Genesis 14B (2011) We broadcast our identity to the world, whether for better or worse. And the world expects us to act accordingly

Transcription

1 Genesis 14B (2011) An hnest man is being tailgated by a stressed-ut wman n a busy bulevard. Suddenly, the light turns yellw, just in frnt f him. He des the hnest thing, and stps at the crsswalk, even thugh he culd have beaten the red light by accelerating thrugh the intersectin. The tailgating wman hits the rf, and the hrn, screaming in frustratin as she misses her chance t get thrugh the intersectin with him. As she is still in mid-rant, she hears a tap n her windw and lks up int the face f a very serius plice fficer. The fficer rders her t exit her car with her hands up. He takes her t the plice statin where she is searched, fingerprinted, phtgraphed, and placed in a cell. After a cuple f hurs, a pliceman appraches the cell and pens the dr. She is escrted back t the bking desk where the arresting fficer is waiting with her persnal effects. He says, "I'm very srry fr this mistake. Yu see, I pulled up behind yur car while yu were blwing yur hrn, making bscene gestures t the car in frnt, and cussing a blue streak at him. I nticed the 'Chse Life' license plate hlder, the 'What Wuld Jesus D' bumper sticker, the 'Fllw Me t Sunday Schl' bumper sticker, and the chrme plated Christian fish emblem n the trunk. S naturally, I assumed yu had stlen the car." We bradcast ur identity t the wrld, whether fr better r wrse And the wrld expects us t act accrdingly Abram had gained a reputatin, ne that led the city f Sdm t lk t him fr rescue Thught they themselves fllwed a different curse and held different values Nevertheless, they knw ur values, smetimes better then we d And in times f distress, we can becme their refuge Often Gd will use in that way t reach the lst S what a terrible shame it is when we fail t live us t that distinctin 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 14B 2 In times when we chse t blend in rather than stand ut, as Lt chse in Sdm, we frfeit ur credibility in claiming t have better answers and a better hpe than the wrld This explains why the attack f the fur nrthern kings has left Lt a captive with the rest f Sdm while Abram is called t prvide rescue And this stry is als the secnd challenge Abram will face fr having brught Lt with him against Gd s wishes There will be a ttal f three such crises fr Abram in dealing with Lt But alng the way Gd uses these three mments t grw Abram and prepare him fr greater things t cme Last week we watched as the refugee fund Abram and tld him f the city s capture The sense f v.13 was that the refugee wanted Abram t intervene t assist the city, based n the assumptin that Abram wuld help Lt And this is precisely what Abram will d Gen. 14:14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led ut his trained men, brn in his huse, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. Gen. 14:15 He divided his frces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hbah, which is nrth f Damascus. Gen. 14:16 He brught back all the gds, and als brught back his relative Lt with his pssessins, and als the wmen, and the peple. Even thugh Lt has caused his fair share f truble, he s still family S Abram desn t hesitate t step in and bring Lt back In fact, we shuld be eternally thankful that Abram respnds in this way, because his behavir frms a picture f ur Father s respnse t His children Lt is a righteus man by faith, accrding t New Testament cmmentary And Abram can be understd t be a man wh pictures ur father in Heaven 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 14B 3 Therefre, in this accunt we see a beautiful picture f the Father in ht pursuit f His relatives, His children Even when we are faithless, Paul teaches, Gd remains faithful because He cannt deny Himself Denying Himself refers t the indwelling f Gd s Spirit in each f His children Gd can t frsake us because His Spirit lives in us S when we are carried away by the wrld s temptatins r the enemy s schemes, the lve f the Father fr His children cmpels Him t pursue us And we can take great cmfrt knwing that He is far strnger than the wrld r the enemy In this case, Abram pursues as far as Dan, Mses says This is a lng pursuit, abut 125 miles Mses says it takes him as far as Dan Dan refers t the nrthern-mst city f Israel, frmerly called Laish The city didn t gain the name Dan until lng after Mses death S we wnder hw did Mses knw t identify the place as the land f Dan? Likely this reference changed by a later scribe Mses may have written Laish And after it became Dan, the name was changed in Scripture Abram s pursuit is als a wnderful picture f hw far the Lrd will g t pursue us And hw lng the pursuit can last Can yu imagine hw Lt was feeling during this time? Did he wnder if Abram was cming? Did he assume they had gne s far away that he had given up he f rescue? 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 14B 4 This is a gd stry t remember in mments when pray fr smene we care abut wh has been carried away by the wrld While we wnder if that persn has gne s far that they are beynd rescue, remember hw things must have appeared t Lt And all the while, Abram was cming and getting clser And in the middle f the night, when things were darkest, the Father appears and defeats the enemy Abram wins victry, and it s remarkable fr tw reasns First, Abram takes a frce f 318 men, all brn in his husehld and ges in pursuit We dn t have a number in Scripture fr the size f the invading army But it s a safe assumptin that the fur invading kings wuld have brught many times mre men t defeat five kingdms And based n hw easily they seemed t have cnquered the land, we can safely assume they had thusands f men S it s surprising, even unbelievable, that Abram culd take a mere 318 men, trained in his huse, nt part f a prfessinal fighting frce, and defeat this army Secndly, Abram takes this hugely disadvantaged frce and divides it, accrding t v.15 Cnventinal military thinking says yu never divide a smaller frce, since it nly weakens yu further But Abram decides t divide his frces anyway and attack at night Leading t a rut, driving them anther 40 miles past Damascus Sme have wndered why Abram pursues them s far The nly lgical reasn is that he hadn t yet rescued Lt 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 14B 5 He may have put the armies n the run, but until he had what he wanted, he kept fighting and pursuing Here s anther encuraging parallel t the way ur Father fights fr His children He fights and pursues until He has reclaimed what belngs t Himself Like the stry f the prdigal sn, Gd will nly be cntent when His children at hme in His cmpany, at His table The fact that Abram fights with nly 318 men and then divides them yet still manages t rut this pwerful army is amazing...in fact, it s a miracle Gd has clearly delivered this victr int Abram s hands And we can be sure that Abram knws that Gd wn this victry Because the next thing we find in the passage is Abram displaying thanks t Gd Gen. 14:17 Then after his return frm the defeat f Chedrlamer and the kings wh were with him, the king f Sdm went ut t meet him at the valley f Shaveh (that is, the King s Valley). Gen. 14:18 And Melchizedek king f Salem brught ut bread and wine; nw he was a priest f Gd Mst High. This pint in the stry becmes a cmparisn between tw kings Mre specifically, Mses recrds hw Abram respnds differently t tw kings in the land f Canaan First as Abram is returning t his hme, he is met by the new king f Sdm The ld king had fallen int the tar pits and died S there is a new man claiming authrity ver the city f Sdm Only there s a prblem...the city f Sdm has n peple S claiming t be king ver an empty city desn t hld much appeal des it? 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 14B 6 S the king travels abut 80 miles nrth t meet up with Abram and ask fr the peple The valley he finds Abram in is the valley between the ld city f Jerusalem and the Munt f Olives The kings request was a bld request, since Abram had every right t keep everything he had gained in the battle He may have been rich already, but this bty wuld have undubtedly made him the mst pwerful man in Canaan This explains why the king traveled s far He didn t expect Abram t bring them back t Sdm Secndly, Abram is met by the king f Salem Salem is an ancient wrd fr peace and the riginal name f Jerusalem Psa. 76:1 Gd is knwn in Judah; His name is great in Israel. Psa. 76:2 His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place als is in Zin. S this man is the King f the city f Salem, ancient Jerusalem His name is Melchizedek, which is an ancient Jebusite name meaning king f righteusness He s als described as a priest f the Mst High Gd, the first mentin f priest in the Bible And he brings Abram bread and wine Befre we examine the cntrast between the tw kings, I want t cnsider wh this king is The letter t the Hebrews prvides the definitive cmmentary n Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 Heb. 7:1 Fr this Melchizedek, king f Salem, priest f the Mst High Gd, wh met Abraham as he was returning frm the slaughter f the kings and blessed him, 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 14B 7 Heb. 7:2 t whm als Abraham apprtined a tenth part f all the spils, was first f all, by the translatin f his name, king f righteusness, and then als king f Salem, which is king f peace. Heb. 7:3 Withut father, withut mther, withut genealgy, having neither beginning f days nr end f life, but made like the Sn f Gd, he remains a priest perpetually. The writer ntes that here s the first priest mentined in Scripture And in fact, he s s imprtant that Abram chses t tithe t him Which tells us that Abram saw this man as a greater authrity in matters f Gd He was Abram s priest, his intercessr Abram wasn t the nly ne in the land wh knew and fllwed the Living Gd Abram wasn t even the mst imprtant Gd had selected a man, a king, t serve as His priest fr the sake f Abram Mst interestingly, the writer f Hebrews ntes that Mses never gives Melchizedek a genealgy Think abut hw strange that is fr Mses and fr Genesis Up t knw, every imprtant character in the line f the seed has been shwn in the genealgies smewhere It s been s imprtant fr Mses t shw us hw everything prceeds frm the events f the Garden Yet here s a significant event, the first priest f Gd, yet he has nt genealgy in Genesis He appears here and then just as quickly he disappears He never appears in any f thse 30,000 ft chapters f begats and deaths It s as if he has n beginning and n end The writer f Hebrews tells us that Melchizedek was prvided in Genesis as a type r picture f Christ 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 14B 8 He was a real man, a Jebusite king f the city f Salem whm Gd used as a priest in his day But in the way Mses tells the stry f Melchizedek, we received a beautiful picture f Christ Christ, like Melchizedek has n beginning, n end He is als bth Priest and King He is the King f Righteusness and the King f Peace And as Hebrews taught, he prves that a greater priesthd predated even the ne f the Msaic Law The Jewish priesthd f the Law came after Melchizedek And the writer f Hebrews uses this fact t argue that the Melchizedek priesthd is a greater priesthd than the ne created in the Law f Mses Psalms tells us that this is the priesthd f Jesus Psa. 110:4 The LORD has swrn and will nt change His mind, ı Yu are a priest frever ı Accrding t the rder f Melchizedek. Jesus is nt a priest under the Law f Mses In fact, under the Law a priest cannt als be a king S Jesus received His right t intercede n ur behalf n a greater priesthd He was made a priest by the ath f Gd the Father And He will nt change His mind And s the priesthd f Jesus supercedes and replaces any earthly frm f priesthd This is why we can nw apprach Gd bldly by way f ur High Priest, Jesus Christ We dn t g thrugh a man r anyne calling themselves a priest 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 14B 9 In fact, the Bible says that we are all priests, in the sense that we are ministers t Gd in ur spiritual service Befre we return t Abram, sme have suggested that Melchizedek was actually Christ in flesh But this is nt what Hebrews teaches and it s impssible First, Hebrews says that Melchizedek became like the Sn f Gd Clearly, the writer is saying that in all these similarities Back t ur tw kings, we have Abram greeted by tw kings On ne hand Abram has the king f Sdm, a pster child fr the kind f kingdm the wrld ffers But irnically, he s a king withut subjects And he ffers Abram the chance fr great wealth in exchange fr the peple On the ther hand, Abram is greeted by a secnd king, the King f Peace and Righteusness And this King brings Abram just bread and wine Which ne will Abram chse t hnr? Gen. 14:19 He blessed him and said, ı Blessed be Abram f Gd Mst High, Pssessr f heaven and earth; Gen. 14:20 And blessed be Gd Mst High, ı Wh has delivered yur enemies int yur hand. He gave him a tenth f all. Gen. 14:21 The king f Sdm said t Abram, Give the peple t me and take the gds fr yurself. Gen. 14:22 Abram said t the king f Sdm, I have swrn t the LORD Gd Mst High, pssessr f heaven and earth, Gen. 14:23 that I will nt take a thread r a sandal thng r anything that is yurs, fr fear yu wuld say, I have made Abram rich. Gen. 14:24 I will take nthing except what the yung men have eaten, and the share f the men wh went with me, Aner, Eshcl, and Mamre; let them take their share Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 14B 10 Abram selects Melchizedek The priest and king blesses Abram, further demnstrating his superir psitin ver Abram Because as Hebrews reminds us, the lessr is always blessed by the greater And the priest acknwledges the surce f Abram s victry, Gd the Mst High T this Abram respnds in thanks, giving the priest and King a tenth f the spils f war If the victry came frm Gd, then Abram sees fit t give back his tithe f thanks t the priest f Gd Nw he turns t the King f Salem This King had wanted t bribe Abram t give him back his peple Ntice the details f his ffer He says Abram can keep the gds if he releases the peple Abram had rights t bth! The king was in n psitin t bargain But Abram is mre wrried abut his testimny, his witness He had just been blessed by Gd s High Priest and acknwledged that Gd was the One blessing Abram Abram respnds in rebuke And nw this pretender t the thrne f Sdm wanted t assume respnsibility fr making Abram rich He says I have swrn t nw take anything frm Sdm Fr if he did, then Sdm culd cmprmise Abram s testimny Rather than Abram standing as a testimny f Gd s faithfulness t His prmises, the wrld might be led t think that Abram became rich in the wrldly way 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 14B 11 And s Abram was far mre wrried abut his witness than his bank accunt S Abram says yu take it all, except fr what was already cnsumed by his men, a fair wage fr the wrk f the rescue And Abram s allies are allwed t take what they want But Abram takes nthing This shuld have been a cnvicting mment fr Lt He just caused this truble fr his uncle And nw he watched as his uncle cnspicuusly says n t the very things that brught dwn Lt Oh that we culd each make Abram s chice rather than Lt s 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.