In our study of Genesis chapter fourteen, we will look at the fact that God doesn't require the majority to accomplish His will. In our world today, it seems like everyone wants to go along with the crowd and everyone looks at their number of followers but that is contrary to the way that God works.
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When Amrafel was king of Shin'ar, Aryokh king of Elasar, K'dorla'omer king of 'Elam and Tid'al king of Goyim; they made war together against Bera king of S'dom and against Birsha king of 'Amora, Shin'av king of Admah, Shem'ever king of Tzvoyim, and the king of Bela (which is the same as Tzo'ar). All the latter kings joined forces in the Siddim Valley, where the Dead Sea is. They had served K'dorla'omer twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
At the time that Avram and Lot separated, Lot went to live near Sodom and they were subject to Kedorlaomer the king of Elam. They rebelled against that authority and so a battle is coming. We remember, from chapter 13, that the people listed here in the second group of kings were described as being evil.
In the fourteenth year K'dorla'omer and the kings with him came and defeated the Refa'im in 'Asht'rot-Karnayim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Eimim in Shaveh-Kiryatayim and the Hori at Se'ir, their mountain, all the way to Eil-Pa'ran by the desert. Next they turned back, came to 'Ein-Mishpat (which is the same as Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the 'Amaleki, and also the Emori, who lived in Hatzatzon-Tamar.
The group of kings with Sodom and Gomorrah saw that their masters were busy fighting elsewhere. We see that they defeated many groups and so must have been a pretty strong force.
Then the kings of S'dom, 'Amora, Admah, Tzvoyim and Bela (that is, Tzo'ar) came out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Siddim Valley against K'dorla'omer king of 'Elam, Tid'al king of Goyim, Amrafel king of Admah and Aryokh king of Elasar, four kings against the five.
These rebellious people looked at the numbers and figured that they had the opportunity to take over. They were confident in their numbers in spite of the fact that the force they were up against had already been successful against the others.
Now the Siddim Valley was full of clay pits; and when the kings of S'dom and 'Amora fled, some fell into them; while the rest fled to the hills. The victors took all the possessions of S'dom and 'Amora and all their food supply; then they left. But as they left, they took Lot, Avram's brother's son, and his possessions; since he was living in S'dom.
We see that God used four to defeat five and accomplish His will. We also see that Lot was captured simply because he was with them in Sodom. We are reminded from this fact that it matters where we hang out and what we do. If we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, bad things can happen.
Someone who had escaped came and told Avram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Emori, brother of Eshkol and brother of 'Aner; all of them allies of Avram. When Avram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, who had been born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
There was one man that escaped the battle and he reported the fact that Lot had been taken captive. The Amorites were descendants of Canaan who was a child of Ham and they were a cursed people (see Genesis 9). Now, we see that Abram only had 318 men and the families of his allies but, even though they would have known that they faced an army with superior numbers, they pursued them. Once again, we see that God does not respect numbers and we also see that many times He will use the lowly (cursed) people to carry out His will. The number 318 is significant as, in Hebrew numerology, the number 18 is associated with life and three is associated with the earthly display of God's will for man. This is showing us that a revelation is coming concerning how we are to live our lives.
During the night he and his servants divided his forces against them, then attacked and pursued them all the way to Hovah, north of Dammesek. He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, together with the women and the other people.
Once again, God did not respect numbers but used this small group to defeat four armies and Avram was able to recover all that had been taken. We remember that these people were called evil yet, because Lot was with them, Avram rescued them. Just as Avram's victory brought deliverance for Lot and those that were with him, we see that the victory of Jesus over sin and death brings deliverance for all who associate with Him.
After his return from slaughtering K'dorla'omer and the kings with him, the king of S'dom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley, also known as the King's Valley.
The defeated king of Sodom met Avram on his return from the battle and they met in the King's Valley which was near the city of Jerusalem today.
Malki-Tzedek king of Shalem brought out bread and wine. He was cohen of El 'Elyon, so he blessed him with these words: "Blessed be Avram by El 'Elyon, maker of heaven of earth. and blessed be El 'Elyon, who handed your enemies over to you." Avram gave him a tenth of everything.
Avram was also met by Malki-Tzedek (Melchizedek) and it is odd that we do not learn much about him other than he was a priest of God from Salem. There are those who say this is speaking of Jerusalem but it is not as God had not established Jerusalem as His holy city. It is also odd that he was called a priest but the Levitical priesthood had not been established yet. In this we see that Melchizedek was more than a man and in fact was a picture of the coming priesthood of Jesus Christ. His name actually means "king of righteousness" and Salem speaks of complete restoration and so we see that he was a picture of the coming righteousness and complete restoration that we would be blessed with through Jesus Christ. We also see that Avram gave him a tithe (10%) of what he had captured. This was before tithing was prescribed by the Law and so we see that the tithe was meant to come from the heart and not from religious legislation. We also see a picture of the first communion (Lord's Supper) as they broke bread and shared the wine in worship of God.
The king of S'dom said to Avram, "Give me the people, and keep the goods for yourself."
The king of Sodom came for the people in hopes that he could still be a king. He was willing to give Avram everything else but he had to have the people. It is much the same with Satan as he doesn't care about the things of this world because he knows that in the end he will be judged. His goal is to get people to follow him all the way to hell.
But Avram answered the king of S'dom, "I have raised my hand in an oath to ADONAI, El 'Elyon, maker of heaven and earth, that I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal thong of anything that is yours; so that you won't be able to say, 'I made Avram rich.' I will take only what my troops have eaten and the share of the spoil belonging to the men who came with me -'Aner, Eshkol and Mamre; let them have their share."
We have all heard the saying "to the victor goes the spoils" and that was the normal practice but Avram does not accept the things that were recovered. We see from his oath to God that he trusts in the Creator to provide what he needs. The same type of thing happens even today in the church. When some people see the favor of God upon our lives, they want to join in and claim our victory for themselves. We must do like Avram and trust in our Creator and not fall into the trap of relying on someone else to provide for our needs.
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