1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,680 We'll be in Genesis 14 this morning. 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:12,080 We will continue in Genesis. Well, next week we'll deviate 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:16,120 from Genesis and then then two weeks after that we'll have two 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:22,560 more messages in Genesis and then we will take a break from 5 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:28,840 Genesis for the summer. So kind of doing a basics of the 6 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:34,520 faith kind of kind of series is what we'll be doing for the 7 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:40,160 summer. So we tend to have a very 8 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:48,360 specific image of who Abram is. Sunday school songs like Father 9 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:53,640 Abraham imprinting to our minds, images of an old grandpa beard 10 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,960 down to his chest and and barely able to walk around. 11 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,880 Right. Like if I say Abraham, that's 12 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:07,000 probably who you picture right now here Abram is 75 or or 80 13 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,520 years old. So he has a few years on him, 14 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,840 but he's got a lot of years and life left in him. 15 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:21,160 This passage is a dramatic pivot in the life of Abram. 16 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,200 It moves from the quiet, pastoral scenes of the previous 17 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:32,240 chapter up with with his life up in Haran, into a geopolitical 18 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,960 conflict that that actually highlights Abram's transition 19 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:41,560 from being a peaceful nomad to a warrior priest who acts with 20 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,520 both tactical precision and spiritual conviction. 21 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,480 I remember a few years back when I first realized what was 22 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,520 happening here in this chapter, I was stunned and I thought what 23 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:59,640 he did what I can't believe he did that this chapter is so cool 24 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,120 and I think it should be turned into like an epic movie. 25 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,280 I I think it would be make an excellent movie. 26 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,759 Now, there's a lot that'll happen this morning before the 27 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:14,560 focus of our chapter. And I will I will tell you all 28 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,640 that we won't read all those verses. 29 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,480 But if you're able, would you stand as we read from our 30 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:26,120 primary passage this morning? So we're in Genesis 14 and we 31 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,040 will pick up at verse 17 is where we will read through the 32 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:34,920 end of the chapter. After his return from the defeat 33 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:39,080 of Ketter Lemaire and the kings who were with him, the king of 34 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,760 Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shave. 35 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,080 That is the King's valley. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, 36 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,000 brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 37 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,320 and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abraham by God Most 38 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,680 High, Possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most 39 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,320 High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. 40 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,240 And Abram gave him a 10th of everything. 41 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,160 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, but 42 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,760 take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of 43 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:14,400 Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the Lord God Most High Possessor 44 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,920 of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a 45 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:22,400 sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say I 46 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,000 have made Abram rich. I will take nothing but what the 47 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,480 young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with 48 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,920 me. Let Aner, Eshkol and Mamre take 49 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:35,360 their share. You may be seated. 50 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,120 This is what we'll call the War of the Kings. 51 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:46,360 This chapter opens with a a ton of names and locations which I 52 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,880 would venture to say most of us would have no idea about. 53 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:56,800 Say for a few like Shinar, Sodom and Gomorrah perhaps even Zoar. 54 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,720 The short of it is this there were 4 kings from Babylon and 55 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:09,200 and what are now Iran and Turkey and one of one of these 4 kings 56 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,640 Ketter Lemaire had he had vassals in Canaan. 57 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:18,519 These cities were were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zebowheim and 58 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:22,920 Bella or Zoar. Ketter Lemaire was was from 59 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:28,000 beyond Mesopotamia. I thought I had is there not a 60 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,160 map? OK there we go. 61 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:37,000 OK it helps because like when I read this stuff just goes over 62 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,120 my head. It helps me understand when I 63 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,800 put a picture to it. So then I can see obviously we 64 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,000 have the Jordan River Valley, Canaan, the little purple 65 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:55,560 section, and these kings came from these other brown regions 66 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,880 that you see. So, so they're from these other 67 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,320 regions. Ketter Lemaire is all the way 68 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,920 from, from the east, the Elamite Kingdom, and he has these 69 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,920 vassal, these vassal city states all the way over in Canaan, 70 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,200 which is a long ways away, probably closer to a close to 71 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:20,200 1000 miles. So these, these kingdoms, they, 72 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:25,600 they banded together and, and it was expected that each of these 73 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:31,320 city states would, would pay tribute to these kingdoms. 74 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:36,920 Well, for 12 years they had served King Kedra Lemaire, but 75 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:42,080 in the 13th year, they decided to cast off the restraints of 76 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,760 oppression and and they rebelled against him. 77 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,080 No, we're not going to pay you tributes. 78 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,320 Obviously, King Kedra Lemaire didn't take too well to this. 79 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:59,760 So in the 14th year he got he got these friends together, he 80 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:04,800 got these kings from Shinar, El Assar and Goem to join him in 81 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,400 subduing the people of Canaan. Now we don't know exactly why 82 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,160 they decided to join the king since the text doesn't tell us, 83 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,160 but it may have been just about making sure the people in Canaan 84 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,760 didn't get too big for the for their britches didn't start to 85 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:26,680 think too much of themselves. So these 4 kings went on a 86 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,520 rampage all throughout the land of Canaan. 87 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:36,560 Now here you can see them entering from from the northeast 88 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:39,600 here on the map. They conquered numerous cities 89 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,960 east of the Jordan River Valley all the way down towards the 90 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,640 Dead Sea and further South, then back up north towards the city 91 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:53,520 that would become Jerusalem. These kings were terrorizing the 92 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:58,000 people of the land. The people of the Jordan River 93 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,840 Valley had had had enough and they and they wanted to put a 94 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:06,280 stop to these kings. What were what were the 95 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:10,920 Canaanites thinking? Those were four large kingdoms 96 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,520 who had all allied together to invade the region. 97 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:22,160 And these were just small city states, nothing like the larger 98 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,200 empires that had that had borne down on them. 99 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,680 The cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboeman, Bella, Zoar, 100 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,640 all assembled in the valley near the near the salt Sea, the Dead 101 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:39,360 Sea, because they decided they were going to take on this 102 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:41,800 massive army and show them who's boss. 103 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:49,960 To be honest, it looks like foolishness and well, things 104 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:55,040 didn't go according to plan. Well for these, for these 5 105 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,520 kings, that is, they were getting routed. 106 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,360 And as they were getting routed, they began to run away. 107 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,040 And as they ran away, the text tells us that some of them fell 108 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:11,400 in bitumen pits or, or tar pits, which I'm sure most of us 109 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:13,960 haven't seen. But when I was in a young boy, 110 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:19,120 when I was a young boy, I got to go to the La Brea tar pits. 111 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:24,800 We were living in the LA area at the time and we went to the La 112 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,160 Brea Tar pits on a school field trip. 113 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,880 It was quite intriguing and I specifically remember the Saber 114 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,360 toothed tiger replicas that they had there. 115 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,200 As a little boy, I thought they were the coolest thing. 116 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,240 Tigers are cool anyways. And then you have the Saber 117 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,720 toothed tiger that was even more cool. 118 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:49,240 Now, a tar pit is a spot where crude oil has seeped up to the 119 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,560 Earth's surface. Some of its lighter components 120 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:57,160 evaporate away in, and what's left is a thick, sticky asphalt. 121 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:02,200 These are natural death traps and can sometimes actually be 122 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:07,080 covered in water. An unsuspecting animal, like a 123 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,920 mammoth would approach what it thought was a drinking hole and 124 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:15,440 it would get stuck. And as they get stuck they begin 125 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:20,080 to flail about trying to trying to free themselves and in the 126 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:25,280 process they catch the attention of of a predator like the Saber 127 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,160 toothed tiger. Not one to pass on an easy meal, 128 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:36,000 the tiger jumps on the mammoth that is stuck in the tar pit. 129 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:43,520 What happens? They both get stuck and they 130 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,320 remain there forever. They don't sink, they actually 131 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:51,720 end up dying by starvation is what actually happens because 132 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:58,160 they just are stuck there. The Dead Sea region had tar 133 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,560 pits. My understanding is that there 134 00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:04,240 are still a bit of tar in the region, and that the Dead Sea is 135 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:10,800 continually seeping these these asphalt clumps up to the 136 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:15,320 surface. It sounds like apparently when 137 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,560 the men of Sodom and Gomorrah fled from the foreign armies, 138 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:25,120 some of them got stuck in these tar pits, presumably losing 139 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,480 their lives, while while others they they literally headed for 140 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,000 the hills just trying to get out of there. 141 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,360 And when this happened, Sodom and Gomorrah were left 142 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,040 completely unprotected. And when the and since they were 143 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:46,280 unprotected, the invading armies took everything from these 144 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,480 cities. All their possessions were gone. 145 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:56,160 They also took Lot Abrams nephew and in all his possessions with 146 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,440 them and, and they departed towards the north. 147 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,960 You see, they'd come down the east side of the of Canaan on 148 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,080 the east side of the Dead Sea and then headed back north. 149 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:13,320 And they, after they had met these armies where it says Sodom 150 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:17,280 and Gomorrah there at the top of the Dead Sea, after they had 151 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,040 defeated the armies there, they headed back north to go home. 152 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:29,480 So they had taken lots and and all he had everybody with him. 153 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:34,480 They had taken them all. So that's the background to the 154 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,800 excitement of the second-half of our text. 155 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:43,160 So next we see Abram's encounter with with kings. 156 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,720 Fortunately, one of the men had escaped. 157 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,880 He escaped and and he went and and he told Abram that that his 158 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,480 nephew had been taken. Abram at the time was living 159 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,760 near the oak trees where Mamre had taken up residence. 160 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:06,320 Mamray and his brothers were were allies of Abram and you can 161 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:10,240 see Mamray there on the West side of the Dead Sea near 162 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:15,280 Hebron. They were allies of of Abrams 163 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,720 and and when Abram found out Lot had been taken, he gathered his 164 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:26,560 troops to go out to rescue Lots. There were 318 trained men in 165 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:31,080 Abrams army. That means Abrams entire 166 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:35,160 household likely would have numbered well over 1000 when you 167 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,760 consider that there were 318 trained men ready to do battle. 168 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,920 Abram had continually been blessed even in spite of Lot 169 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:52,040 having chosen the better land. As Abrams force went marching 170 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,960 out they they headed north in in hot pursuit of the marauders. 171 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:01,080 They got all the way to Dan, which is just north of the Sea 172 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,560 of Galilee. Dan was well over 100 miles from 173 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,720 from Abram's home near the oaks of Mamrie, but his men had moved 174 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,560 fast and they were able to catch up to these large forces in Dan. 175 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:20,040 When Abram got there, he he split up his army into smaller 176 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,800 militias and then using guerrilla warfare, attacked the 177 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,440 armies of Ketter Lemare at night. 178 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,720 And side note, this wasn't just Abram sending the trained men 179 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,680 into into battle into this attack. 180 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,920 No, Abram and his servants actually were part of the 181 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,000 attacking militias. They were involved in the 182 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,760 attack. That's a different picture of 183 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,400 Abram, I think than than most of us normally have. 184 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,640 Right. I don't, I don't think when we 185 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:57,720 picture Abram, we think of a general type person going into 186 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,760 battle, but that's who he is. Ketter Lemaire's armies quickly 187 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:04,600 tried to flee from Abrams forces. 188 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,320 Abram could have had his militia pull back. 189 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,880 OK. We we, we, we scared them. 190 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,840 We sent them on their way. No, that's not that's not Abrams 191 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,400 plan here. No, we're going to continue 192 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:21,040 chasing them another 50 miles all the way to Hoba. 193 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,680 So they wanted to make sure that they were not going to come 194 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,600 back. Abram show these enemies the 195 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,960 door and made sure that they they wouldn't be tempted to 196 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:40,360 return back to Canaan. He'd gone all out to guarantee 197 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:45,240 the safety of his kin. He returned back to Dan and he 198 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,440 brought back lots, all his possessions and all the people 199 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:53,600 who had been taken hostage. This is an absolutely fantastic 200 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,680 story. It definitely paints Abram in a 201 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,720 different light, right? He's not the frail old man that 202 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,240 that we might picture. He's a fierce warrior and 203 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:09,600 protector of his family. This is all background for this 204 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,360 moment, this this section of the text that has inspired many, 205 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:20,800 many questions over the years. The next king Abram interacts 206 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:27,160 with is the king of Saddam, and we see him in verses 17 and 21 207 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,760 through 24. As we consider this king, it's 208 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,360 important to remind ourselves that the kings in this region 209 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:38,600 weren't like the other kings who had invaded Canaan. 210 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:45,080 These kings were more like governors or mayors or generals 211 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,440 or something more like that. Their rule is usually confined 212 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:55,000 to the city level, and verse 17 picks up with Abram and everyone 213 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,720 returning and gathering in the valley of Shave, the King's 214 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,000 Valley. And this valley is later called 215 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,120 the Kidron Valley, and it lies just east of what is now the 216 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,480 Jerusalem Temple Mount. And this valley serves as a 217 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:17,440 divider between the city and the Mounts of Olives, Abram and the 218 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:22,800 entire entourage of armed forces as well as the rescued hostages. 219 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,880 This is hundreds of people were there in the King's valley in 220 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,960 Bera. The king of Saddam went out to 221 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,320 meet Abram. Presumably the king king of 222 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:40,320 Saddam wanted to thank Abram for for helping in in rescue Lot and 223 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,640 the others as well as thanking him for sending the enemy 224 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:49,840 scampering away. If we skip down to verse 21, we 225 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:55,480 see what he said to Abraham. He says give me the person's but 226 00:16:55,720 --> 00:17:00,600 take the goods for yourself. The king was simply saying you 227 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,680 can keep everything all, all the goods and possessions for 228 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,200 yourself, but give me back the people that you rescued. 229 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:13,040 Abraham's response is a bit surprising because it was 230 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:17,800 customary to receive some sort of payment for your services 231 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,319 when working to protect and and help people. 232 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,240 For example, in First Samuel 25, David asked Nabal for 233 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:31,760 compensation because David's men had protected Nabal's flocks 234 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,920 when they were out in the wilderness. 235 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,280 They had protected Nabal's shepherds. 236 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,880 Now, Nabal didn't respond appropriately. 237 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,560 If you want to hear all about that, check out the message that 238 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,560 I delivered exactly 1 year ago for Mother's Day. 239 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:54,160 Fortunately, Nabal had a wonderful wife who saved his 240 00:17:54,160 --> 00:18:00,280 life, but compensation would have been expected in these 241 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:05,160 circumstances. Abram's response wasn't 242 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,640 expected. Verses 22 through 24 but Abram 243 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,680 said to the king of Sodom, I've lifted my hand to the Lord God 244 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,880 Most High Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take 245 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,320 a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you 246 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,600 should say I have made Abram rich. 247 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,480 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the 248 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,360 share of the men who went with me. 249 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,080 Let Anaire, Eshkol and Mamre take their share. 250 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,800 Abram had previously sworn an oath that that he wouldn't take 251 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,120 any compensation. This was signaled by by the 252 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:47,320 raising of his hand to Yahweh. It may well have gone something 253 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,880 like this. God, if if you do this, if you 254 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:57,200 will give me victory in this task, then I I won't accept 255 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,880 payment for it. Not even a string or a sample. 256 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,840 The the smallest, most minuscule payment fathomable. 257 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:12,280 I won't take anything now. Abram's oath was an expression 258 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:18,960 of trust in Yahweh's blessing. Abram's oath was an expression 259 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:25,520 of trust in Yahweh's blessing. Abram was fully on track here in 260 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,200 this episode. He had complete trust in Yahweh 261 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,240 and he acted out of that conviction. 262 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:37,840 To turn down the payments he was rightfully due was a 263 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,600 demonstration that he was trusting Yahweh. 264 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,920 Abram wasn't trusting in riches. That's not what he was after. 265 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:52,960 Trust in riches, after all, only leads to folly and foolishness. 266 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,560 Proverbs 11/4 tells us riches do not profit in the day of wrath, 267 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,720 but righteousness delivers from death. 268 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:06,720 Abram's trust was in Yahweh, and he wasn't about to let the the 269 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:11,560 king of Sodom take any credit for contributing to his own 270 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,880 personal wealth. Abram's riches were from one 271 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:22,760 source only, and that was God. The next king we meet here in 272 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:31,040 the valley is the king of Salem. The Salem is just uphill from 273 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:34,120 the King's valley and is the city that would one day be 274 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:38,520 called Jerusalem. These kings and Abram were all 275 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,520 gathered right there between Salem and the Mount of Olives. 276 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:45,680 So it's to be expected that the king of Salem would make an 277 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:52,760 appearance reading at verse 18. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, 278 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,120 brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 279 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,760 and he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram by God Most 280 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:03,120 High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most 281 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:05,800 High who has delivered your enemies into your hand. 282 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,400 And Abram gave him a 10th of everything. 283 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:16,080 This king, he has a name. His name is Melchizedek. 284 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:21,560 Melchizedek means king of righteousness. 285 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:26,880 Plus, he's the king of Salem, which means peace. 286 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:33,280 This means Melchizedek is both king of righteousness and king 287 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:37,560 of peace. He's both king of righteousness 288 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:42,240 and king of peace. Now, being the king of 289 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,240 righteousness means that Melchizedek was looking to 290 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,800 establish right living and justice. 291 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:56,160 Presiding as king over a place called peace was something 292 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,840 cutting edge in their tumultuous culture in times. 293 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,480 Consider the fact that violence and war were the law of the land 294 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:12,880 in their era, not peace. So it's quite a surprise that 295 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:17,400 Abram encountered a priest of God Most High in this part of 296 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,520 the world, in Canaan, a place filled with evil people. 297 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:28,080 When when Melchizedek came down to meet Abram, he brought bread 298 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,760 and wine. He brought bread and wine. 299 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:38,440 Now sure, of course these items existed beforehand, but here the 300 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,800 bread and wine are brought together for the very first time 301 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,400 in Scripture. In the ancient Near East, it was 302 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,360 common for allies to bring food to the leader of an army as an 303 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:54,400 offering of peace, declaring peace between the the two 304 00:22:54,400 --> 00:23:00,760 entities, the two parties. Now our vision is is filtered 305 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,600 through the cross and and our New Testament understanding. 306 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:10,920 So when we read about the bread and wine, our minds immediately 307 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:17,240 go to the Lord's Supper, the communion, right the offering of 308 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:24,520 Jesus body, his body, the bread, his his blood, the wine is what 309 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:30,360 brings us peace. Hebrews 922 tells us that 310 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,520 without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of 311 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:39,200 sin, no peace between God and man. 312 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,600 The bread and wine service symbols of Jesus body broken and 313 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:49,960 and his blood spilled to bring US peace. 314 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:59,200 They foreshadow Melchizedek bringing out the the bread and 315 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:05,040 wine foreshadows Passover and what Jesus would do. 316 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:13,600 So peace was being established between Melchizedek and Abram. 317 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:21,680 Then Melchizedek blessed Abram, then Melchizedek blessed Abram. 318 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,960 In verse 19 we we read his words of blessing. 319 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,880 Blessed be Abram by God Most High, possessor of heaven and 320 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,720 earth, and blessed be God Most High who has delivered your 321 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:37,560 enemies into your hand. Now if we're not careful, we 322 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,040 might miss a couple things in relation to this blessing. 323 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:46,800 Just gloss over it. First, not to state the obvious, 324 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:53,640 but Melchizedek blessed Abram. This is significant for a 325 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:59,440 reason, because blessing, you see is conferred by a superior. 326 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:05,320 This is the pattern we see in the Old Testament. 327 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,320 A blessing is given by someone who is in a position of 328 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,000 spiritual authority over another person. 329 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,480 A person of lower spiritual authority doesn't bless someone 330 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,640 of higher spiritual authority. So here Abram is demonstrated to 331 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:27,080 be of lower spiritual authority than Melchizedek, for example, 332 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:32,760 making this personal. In our lives each day, day, 333 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:38,680 year, each year on the first day of school, we would sit down as 334 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:46,680 a family and I would proclaim or read the the ironic blessing 335 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,960 over my children as they would head off to school. 336 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,600 The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine 337 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,680 upon you. The Lord lift up his countenance 338 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,480 upon you and give you peace. I would proclaim that over them. 339 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,040 I'll tell you it was very difficult to do as a father 340 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,320 proclaiming a blessing over your children. 341 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,600 Often it just, I'd be barely be able to get the words out 342 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:13,280 because it's just such a moving moment. 343 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:18,840 But, and I'm doing that as the spiritual authority, the 344 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:25,200 spiritual head of my home. So it is someone from a higher 345 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:30,040 position of spiritual authority who blesses someone else. 346 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,200 So that is exactly what happened here. 347 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:40,240 Now stop and consider the fact that Abram will become one of 348 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:46,840 the most significant figures in all of history, one of the most 349 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,960 significant figures in all of history, and yet here he is 350 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,680 receiving a blessing from this mysterious king. 351 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,680 Melchizedek confers this blessing on Abram, essentially 352 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,720 stepping in as mediator between God and Abram. 353 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:13,560 And Jesus is the one who who mediates between God and 354 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:17,040 humanity and confers the ultimate eternal blessing. 355 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,000 First Timothy 25 says, for there is one God and there is one 356 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:26,440 mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 357 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,640 So Melchizedek had stepped into the role of spiritual head and 358 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:38,040 mediator between God and Abram. Now second second thing to take 359 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:43,280 note of here is that Melchizedek has a strong and well developed 360 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:50,840 understanding of who God is. He referred to him as God most 361 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,040 High, possessor of heaven and earth. 362 00:27:54,360 --> 00:28:00,600 The words being used here are El El Yan which is Upper High God. 363 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,080 This is emphatic in the Hebrew. Yahweh is the upper, most high, 364 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:11,560 highest God there is, and he's the possessor of heaven and 365 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:13,880 earth. The one who holds earth and 366 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,800 heaven in his hands is the same one who delivered Abraham's 367 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:23,880 enemies into his hands, and Yahweh is the one who controls 368 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:32,600 all of it. Melchizedek is a special king, a 369 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,200 king of righteousness and peace, bestowing blessing on Abram and 370 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:44,080 and familiar with Yahweh. Then Melchizedek goes quiet. 371 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:49,200 Just as quickly as he'd uttered this blessing, suddenly he's 372 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,960 gone. His words are gone, that is. 373 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,200 And Abram gave him a 10th of everything. 374 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:04,800 So Abram responded to Melchizedek by offering a tithe. 375 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:11,400 A tithe is, strictly speaking, a tithe is 10%. 376 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,800 Abram gave this priest a tithe. You might be thinking, hold up, 377 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,560 what do you mean he offered a tithe? 378 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:24,520 We're still 500 years from from the law being written and and 379 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:29,760 the tithe being implemented. So how how is it that he's 380 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:34,200 offering a tithe? Well, let's consider 2 primary 381 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:38,080 reasons for making such an offering to God. 382 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,120 The first reason we offer gifts to God is because of who He is. 383 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,880 He's worthy of the gifts we offer to Him. 384 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,320 He's worthy of the gifts we offer to Him. 385 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,120 God is the Creator. He's the He's the life giver, 386 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,600 the one who sustains and holds it all together. 387 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,320 God the Father sent God the Son into the world to make things 388 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,520 right and provide a way for us to have a relationship with Him. 389 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,080 He's worthy of everything we could possibly give back to Him. 390 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:20,160 And here Abram offered gifts to this priest, God's 391 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,760 representative on earth, because God possesses all things and was 392 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,360 the one who delivered victory against the foreign invading 393 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,680 armies. Abram offered this tithe to 394 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:35,480 someone who was worthy of it. It wasn't demanded of him. 395 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:43,240 Melchizedek doesn't ask him for a tithe, but Abram offers it 396 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,920 because he's worthy. The second reason to offer a 397 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,960 tithe they're offering is out of gratefulness. 398 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,520 We give offerings out of gratefulness to God. 399 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:59,120 When Paul writes about the cheerful giver in Second 400 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,960 Corinthians 97, there's there's an undergirding of gratefulness 401 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:12,520 in the entire passage. Giving by compulsion because you 402 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:18,000 have to isn't a demonstration of gratitude. 403 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,480 Cheerful giving, though, is done out of recognition of the grace 404 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:28,160 and goodness God has poured into our lives. 405 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,120 Now talk more about giving later this summer. 406 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,160 I won't tell you which Sunday, so you can't be intentionally 407 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:46,400 gone for it. Giving is important to to our 408 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,280 Christian walk and discipleship, so it's important that we do 409 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,400 teach on it from time to time. Otherwise you will sell them 410 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,360 here about money from this pulpit. 411 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,440 Abram was grateful God had worked this miracle and allowed 412 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:03,880 his army to have success over the forces of these much larger 413 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:07,960 empires. So he offered this gift. 414 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:13,640 So the burning question, who is Melchizedek? 415 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:19,240 Is he just a priest king blessing Abram and receiving a 416 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:24,000 tithe on behalf of Yahweh? Or is this what we call a 417 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:28,680 Christophany, a pre Incarnate appearance of Jesus in the Old 418 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:32,080 Testament? There's been much debate over 419 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,080 the years and it's difficult to say for sure. 420 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:41,080 I will tell you I lean towards this being a Christophany 421 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,920 because there are some things not only here in this passage 422 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,800 but also in Hebrews. There are things said about 423 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:56,080 Mechizadek that would be difficult to explain if it's was 424 00:32:56,080 --> 00:33:01,680 related to someone who was just a normal human priest. 425 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:09,840 When we read Hebrews, we find he has no genealogy. 426 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:12,800 He doesn't have a beginning or end. 427 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,440 He was made like the Son of God and he continues as a priest 428 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:23,320 forever. All these things could be said 429 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,280 of Jesus Christ. He is the priest King who has 430 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:29,480 secured the blessing of God's promise for us. 431 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:33,360 He is provided for our peace, offering his body as the 432 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,920 sacrifice. We will have problems in the 433 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:41,200 world for sure, but we can hold fast to the promise of Jesus 434 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,920 Christ, our sure and steady anchor. 435 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:53,800 Jesus is the one worthy of our offerings and worship. 436 00:33:55,680 --> 00:34:01,400 Jesus is the one who I believe appeared there in that moment, 437 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:11,120 blessed Abram and received that gift of worship back from Abram. 438 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:13,920 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 439 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:23,560 Father God, we we come to you and we, we just thank you for 440 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:27,960 this opportunity to look into your word and, and consider this 441 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:32,040 special priest, Melchizedek, the King of righteousness, the the 442 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:40,800 King of peace. And we affirm our faith in Jesus 443 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,880 Christ, the, the King of righteousness, the King of 444 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:50,560 peace, the one who by his sacrifice, by his shedding of 445 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:55,880 blood on the cross has made peace for us. 446 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:05,200 When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we have peace with you 447 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:12,640 God. So we thank you, we thank you 448 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:20,360 God for providing that. And so we respond by offering 449 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:28,440 our lives of gifts of worship, not just our resources, as as 450 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,400 Abram did in this particular moment, offering his resources. 451 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:36,080 We do that, yes, but we offer more than just the financial 452 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,160 resources that you have given to us. 453 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:47,880 We offer our lives to you in worship because you are worthy. 454 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:53,440 It's in Jesus name we pray, Amen.