Genesis 14:17-24 – 17After 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). 18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
The story involves the patriarch Abraham; known as the “friend of God.” Here is the backdrop.
Abraham made a journey to Egypt with his nephew Lot. Upon returning to Canaan both Abraham and Lot had many “flocks and herds and tents.” They were wealthy men. Strife developed between their herdsmen. Abraham gave Lot the choice of where to settle. Lot looked at the parched hills to the west and the lush valley to the east. He decided to head east.
The Old Testament makes a distinction between east and west. In Genesis 12, when bowing to worship God, Abraham faced west toward Bethel (meaning “house of God”) with his back to the east, toward Ai (meaning “ruin”). The city Ai was almost the ruin of Joshua’s leadership (Joshua 7:1-9), was the ruin of Achan’s family (Joshua 7:16-26) and suffered ruin during Israel’s conquest (Joshua 8).
In Exodus 26, a person entered the Tabernacle facing west, with their back to the east.
Ezekiel 8:16-17 states, “16He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. 17He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah
The direction west is an Old Testament type of faith and obedience, while the direction east is a type of rebellion and disobedience.
Lot went east; a trek filled with material wealth. Abraham went west; a journey barren of visible rewards. If Abraham were to continue being wealthy it would come by divine providence; wealth would not be accomplished by what could naturally be conceived or produced.
While Lot was living in the Jordan valley trouble developed. For twelve years the kings of the valley were subject to a king from the north and decided to form an alliance. The king from the north (Kedorlaomer) entered a coalition with neighboring kings and “war filled the land.” (Living Bible)
Kedorlaomer invaded the Salt Sea Valley. The valley forces became so frightened that many slipped into asphalt pits while fleeing. When plundering the valley cities, and carrying off the spoils of war, he made a fatal mistake. He took Lot’s family.
A prisoner escaped and reported everything to Abraham. Abraham assembled 318 men and pursued the homeward-bound army. He caught up to them near Dan, north of the Sea of Galilee (approximately 120 miles away) and made a successful nighttime attack. He pursued the fleeing army north of Damascus and recovered everything; the loot, the women, the captives, and Lot’s family.
Upon their return two kings welcomed Abraham; the king of Salem and the king of Sodom. Salem would later be called “Jerusalem.”
The king of Salem, Melchizedek, is referred to as a priest of God Most High (“El Elyon” or “Creator”). He was an early representative of the Lord. The New Testament book of Hebrews (7:1-2) reveals his name means “king of righteousness.” Being king of Salem, he was the king of “peace.” (“Salem
Abraham gave Melchizedek the tithe (10 percent of the spoil). Tithing expresses devotion and complete submission. In return Melchizedek gave Abraham a divine blessing.
Hebrews declares Jesus is the high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (7:17) Abraham, in which was the seed of Israel, bowed to this priestly representative. The same blessing, given to Abraham, is available today for those who follow Jesus and express their devotion with the tithe.
The other king greeting Abraham was the king of Sodom. Genesis 14:2 reveals his name was Bera; meaning “with evil.” The Bible portrays Sodom as corrupt and chaotic and their king as evil personified. The king was “with evil” and was a spokesman of the evil one, Satan.
Picture the scene being played out: Two kings come out to greet a battle weary yet victorious Abraham, during an emotionally vulnerable moment. One represents righteousness and the other embodies evil; one from the city of peace and the other from the city of corruption. Who will Abraham listen to? Who will Abraham, the father of faith, make his friend?
Abraham responded to righteousness and did not give a moment’s thought to evil. What an intriguing request, however, was made by King “With evil”: “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” (V. 21)
Here are three applications:
It matters how a person seeks success.
Everyone wants to live a successful life. No one ever says they want to live an impoverished life. People naturally hope to carve out a comfortable existence.
Abraham, however, was adamant to the king of Sodom, “I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’” (V. 23)
There is a right way and a wrong way to gain achievement. Two roads lead to rewards but go in opposite directions. The road taken is crucial. The attitude “if it works it must be right” is foolish.
Lot sought success on a pathway of self and sin; the easier of the two pathways. Selfish opportunities come naturally, living in a sinful world.
Cheating someone out of a dollar is easier than earning a dollar. Drug dealers consider pushing drugs easier than steady employment. While living in Chicago, one said to me, “Only fools work.” Those who pursue gain in ungodly ways, however, will find themselves in constant conflict with others wanting the same thing.
Abraham sought success by faith and devotion. The westward land was barren yet he experienced success through submission and servitude. Accomplishment does not necessarily mean possessions. What a person has, or lacks having, is put to rest when living by faith in God.
What is your perspective of living a successful life?
Ted Turner of Turner Broadcasting once said, “Millions don’t count for much any more. A dollar is worth about one hundredth as much as it was when I was a youngster. Money becomes worthless. According to Jesus Christ, money is worthless. It won’t buy you anything in heaven if there is one. It might not even get you in.”
G.S. Graham said, “Look at your life as you will see it on eternity’s morning when life will be all behind you. What will you and I count on at eternity’s morning? Money? No; that will be gone, never to come back again. Position? That will have passed away forever. Pleasure and ease? They, too, will be gone. But there will be two things that we shall value with all our being on eternity’s morning. The first is to know that we have done His will with our lives, and the second will be to know that there are precious souls standing around the throne on the solemn morning that God used us to have a share in winning.”
How a person defines success and pursues success is important. Believing that results are all that matters is erroneous.
Satan is using things to gain the heart of people.
The king of Sodom said to Abraham, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” (V.21) Like Sodom’s king, the devil only wants people; they are the dearest thing to God.
The devil realizes a meaningful life is connected to people, not things. He tempts people to think that “the one who dies with the most goods wins.” He is not fooled by his own lie. The true purpose of life is people coming into a personal relationship with God.
A question every believer must answer is, “Am I using things to bring people to Christ or am I using people to gain things for myself?”
Bera, the king “with evil,” offered Abraham an opportunity to use people to gain things. The devil is still offering God’s people the same proposition. Sadly, many take him up on the proposal. Satan has a clearer understanding of people over things than some who profess knowing God.
The testimony of Jesus always suffers when things takes precedence over people. Throughout the history of the church, prominent people have been publicly exposed with this problem. The tragedy is they do not always start this way. Like an Abraham, they battle for the Lord and experience many victories. When the conflict is over righteousness and evil come to greet them and the heart is examined. Good people sometimes listen to the wrong voice.
The Lord provides success but possessions must be dedicated to Him; it is the blessing of the faithful steward. The devil, on the other hand, offers his version of success. His rendering is expressed in phrases like, “Live for yourself. You worked hard and deserve the best. You deserve what others have. (Worse of all lies) God blesses those who bless themselves.”
The problem is not constricted to just the wealthy; it is a heart problem more than a money problem. If God were to reveal the true intentions of church-attending people, many would be embarrassed because of loving things and using people.
Resisting the enticing offer of the Tempter is possible.
Abraham responded, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath….” (V. 22) Abraham faced his temptation with the issue already resolved. Before receiving the evil one’s offer he committed every aspect of his life to God. He made an oath; he would only possess what comes from the Lord.
Similar alluring offers are still being made. Have you set boundaries for yourself about what you will accept?
David Livingstone, missionary to Africa, wrote in his journal, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind and a bright hope of a glorious destiny thereafter? Away with the word, in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege.”
Whose voice did Livingstone listen to? Who got his attention – the king of peace or the king of corruption; King Righteousness or King Evil?
Using Things, Loving People
When our four children were young, we regularly took family vacations. Before the days of DVD players in automobiles, families did an amazing thing: They looked at the scenery, talked to each other and played games together. We also sporadically listened to music and sang together.
One of our favorite selections of songs was recorded by B.J. Thomas. Part of his fame came from singing the theme-song to the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” He eventually made a decision to follow Jesus and began recording songs with Biblical themes.
One song has the lyrics, “Using things and loving people, that’s the way it’s got to be, using things and loving people, look around and you can see, that loving things and using people only leads to misery, using things and loving people, that the way it’s got to be…. Using things and loving people, brings you happiness I found, using things and loving people, not the other way around, loving things and using people only leads to misery, using things and loving people, that’s the way it’s got to be.” (YouTube: “BJ Thomas – Using Things and Loving People”)
Are you using things and loving people or loving things and using people? When the Lord and the evil one inquire about your heart, what will be discovered? Decide now to only accept what the Lord blesses or the Tempter will effectively deceive you.
When our oldest son and his family received final clearance to work in East Africa, we received an email from one of their friends. He ends all his correspondence with a great statement: “Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire.”
If you want your life to count, if you want to live life with purpose, if you want genuine fulfillment, decide to touch others more than acquire things.
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