In yesterday's passage Abram and his men defeated Kedorlaomer and his allies who had taken captive Abram's nephew Lot and many citizens of Sodom. Today two kings come out to meet Abram.
"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)." (Genesis 14:17) This valley is believed to have been just outside of what would later be known as Jerusalem, on the north side. This is where the king of Sodom comes out to retrieve his rescued people and to offer his gratitude to Abram and to the men who rescued them. As we will see shortly, the king will try to give him worldly goods as thanks for Abram's help.
We know very little about the king of Sodom but the Bible tells us that the people of Sodom were exceedingly wicked. It's probably safe to assume that the king was also a wicked pagan person living in opposition to the Lord. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the offer this king makes to Abram is intended by Satan to be a temptation. We never have to be more on guard spiritually than right after the Lord has given us a great victory or right after we have had an amazing spiritual experience. Spiritual highs are an awesome thing and a time of elevated communion with our God, but that's exactly when that old serpent of old likes to strike out at us. While basking in the afterglow of a spiritual breakthrough or in the glory of a great feat that God performed on our behalf, we might not be looking out for stumbling blocks in our path, and that's exactly when Satan likes to strew stumbling blocks all over our path.
The devil placed stumbling blocks even in the path of the Lord Jesus. For example, right after Jesus was baptized and both John the Baptist and God the Father from heaven announced His identity as the Messiah to the huge crowd assembled by the river, Jesus was tempted forty days by Satan. At the very moment when we feel most loved and validated by our God, the devil often tries to do his best to send us into a spiritual low point. In our passage today, Abram is no doubt rejoicing in the victory the Lord gave him and his men over armies that should have been much too strong for them to defeat. It is at that precise moment that the king of Sodom shows up to offer Abram material things. Focusing on material things would take Abram's mind off spiritual things.
But the Lord, in His mercy, sends a godly king to meet Abram right after the battle. This king comes out not to bless Abram materially but to bless him spiritually in the name of the Lord. "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine." (Genesis 14:18) Salem is the same place that will later be called Jerusalem. Tomorrow we are going to focus on some mysterious passages from the Bible regarding King Melchizedek, but today we are going to focus more on what he does than on who he is. The first thing he does is offer Abram (and likely the men with him) bread and wine. These men need refreshment after fighting a fierce battle. Have you ever gotten into the wrong kind of mood simply because you needed refreshment? In our day this type of mood is referred to as being "hangry", when you are so hungry it makes you angry. I know I'm more likely to be irritable and impatient when my blood sugar is getting a bit low from going too long without eating. The Lord who created our bodies understands the effect that hunger and thirst have on them. He knows we might say or do things we wouldn't say or do when we aren't "hangry", so He sends out a man to serve refreshments to the weary, hungry, and thirsty Abram and his men.
There may be some spiritual significance to the specific refreshments Melchizedek brings with him. The bread and wine may prophetically symbolize the redeeming sacrifice Christ will make when He gives His life to secure salvation for mankind. In the gospels we find the Lord Jesus using the bread and wine to symbolize His approaching death on the cross. "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.'" (Luke 22:19-20) If Melchizedek is looking forward to the promised Redeemer when he chooses the refreshments to bring out to the men, he is offering them spiritual refreshment as well as physical refreshment. We are not created as a body only, but as a body and a soul. We have physical needs and spiritual needs, and the Lord who created us knows this, and He is happy to supply the refreshment that satisfies us body and soul.
Now this king blesses Abram, strengthening him even more in the inner man, "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.'" (Genesis 14:19-20a) The king of Sodom came out to congratulate Abram on his military prowess, but the king of Salem reminds Abram that his help comes from the Lord.
"Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." (Genesis 20b) I believe this is the first example of tithing in the Bible. By giving a tenth of all the spoils he took in battle to Melchizedek, Abram is giving this tenth to the Lord. The priest will use these goods in the Lord's service. When we give money to our churches today, we do so in the attitude that we are giving to the Lord. We expect the money to be used in the service of the Lord; for example, by helping the poor in our church or by doing community outreach or by assisting the hungry in the community. When we help to supply the needs of our fellow man, we are doing service to the Lord, for when Jesus spoke of doing good deeds for others He said, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me." (Matthew 25:40)
We know Abram and his men rescued Lot, all the people, and all their belongings. But what Abram gave to Melchizedek was most likely the spoils of war---things he and his men captured from the enemy. It was a common practice to take everything that the enemy left behind when they took off running in defeat. These things usually included weapons, tents, animals, food, clothing, wine, water, and anything else an army might need in its camp. I don't believe Abram gave Melchizedek anything that belonged to the rescued captives of Sodom. These things did not belong to Abram, and the people still possess these things. The king of Sodom, however, thinks nothing of offering the possessions of his people to Abram in thanks for what he's done. "The king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the people and take the goods for yourself.'" (Genesis 14:21) The king says, "All I want is to have my people back. You can keep everything else."
In Abram's day it would have been acceptable for him to keep all these possessions for himself. It was the way things were done. A man who rescued a group of people was entitled to keep their goods as "payment" for his work. But Abram doesn't want their stuff. He doesn't need it anyway; the Bible has already told us he's become quite wealthy. Besides that, Abram doesn't want to be associated in any way with the king of Sodom or with the type of things that go on in that city. "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.'" (Genesis 14:22-23) Some people can't give away anything without letting everyone know about it. The king of Sodom would have gone around bragging about how Abram profited from him. The wealth Abram possesses was given to him by the Lord. All the thanks for his material prosperity belongs to the Lord. Abram doesn't want the recognition going to anyone else, so he refuses to take anything from the king.
Abram can only refuse these goods for himself, not for his three friends who came with him and his men, so he allows the king to award these men their share. "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 14:24) We were told earlier in Genesis 14 that Abram took 318 trained men from his own household with him into battle. Now that the battle is over, these men deserve to eat their fill, even if that means eating some of the supplies that belonged to the people of Sodom. But Abram asks for nothing more for these men who are his servants. They need to eat before beginning the march home, but once they get home Abram will supply their needs just as he has been doing all along. Out of all the wealth the Lord has given him, Abram keeps his servant soldiers housed and clothed and fed, along with their wives and children. But his three friends, like most men of their day, expect to profit from a victorious battle. They have not made a vow to the Lord not to accept anything from the king of Sodom. We don't even know whether they believe in the Lord. So Abram graciously allows the king of Sodom to award his three friends with a share of the goods.
Join us tomorrow as we delve deeply into the identity of the mysterious king of Salem and priest of Most High God, and as we discuss how in many ways he symbolizes a king and priest who would come later: the Lord Jesus Christ.
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