Reflections on Genesis 14

Genesis 14 (Contemporary English Version)
1. About this time, King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim
   
2. attacked King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, also known as the city of Zoar.
   
3. King Chedorlaomer and his allies had ruled these last five kings for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year the kings rebelled and came together in Siddim Valley, which is now covered by the southern part of the Dead Sea.
   
4. (SEE 14:3)
   
5. A year later King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh-Kiriathaim.
   
6. They also defeated the Horites in the hill country of Edom, as far as El-Paran, near the desert.
   
7. They went back to the city of Enmishpat, better known as Kadesh. Then they captured all the land that belonged to the Amalekites, and they defeated the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.
   
8. At Siddim Valley, the armies of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela fought the armies of King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar. The valley
   
9. (SEE 14:8)
   
10. was full of tar pits, and when the troops from Sodom and Gomorrah started running away, some of them fell into the pits. Others escaped to the hill country.
    
11. Their enemies took everything of value from Sodom and Gomorrah, including their food supplies.
    
12. They also captured Abram's nephew Lot, who lived in Sodom. They took him and his possessions and then left.
    
13. At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram
    
14. that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred eighteen of Abram's servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan.
    
15. That night, Abram divided up his troops, attacked from all sides, and won a great victory. But some of the enemy escaped to the town of Hobah north of Damascus,
    
16. and Abram went after them. He brought back his nephew Lot, together with Lot's possessions and the women and everyone else who had been captured.
    
17. Abram returned after he had defeated King Chedorlaomer and the other kings. Then the king of Sodom went to meet Abram in Shaveh Valley, which is also known as King's Valley.
    
18. King Melchizedek of Salem was a priest of God Most High. He brought out some bread and wine
    
19. and said to Abram: "I bless you in the name of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
    
20. All praise belongs to God Most High for helping you defeat your enemies." Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
    
21. The king of Sodom said to Abram, "All I want are my people. You can keep everything else."
    
22. Abram answered: The LORD God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him
    
23. that I won't keep anything of yours, not even a sandal strap or a piece of thread. Then you can never say that you are the one who made me rich.
    
24. Let my share be the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me, so give them their share of what we brought back.
    
    

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    Circumstances are opportunities for blessing when we go with God, or threats to our wellbeing if we reject God. Romans 8:28, an often quoted and misquoted verse of scripture gives us perspective on God's handling of circumstances:  "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose." From this verse we understand that any and all circumstances are opportunities for God to bring about good. But there is a conditional statement in the verse that is often left out when it is quoted. The condition is that we love God and therefore are intent on His purposes. If we are not following God or paying attention to His direction in our lives, it stands to reason that we cannot benefit from the good He brings from the circumstances of life. Many expect God to make things good for them but do not concern themselves with including God in their lives. Yet they become angry with God when they miss out on the good.
    
    Abram had aligned himself with God and thus with God's intent to bring good from all circumstances. This being the case, the account in this chapter of the warring nations and the defeat of the king of Sodom and subsequent captivity of Abram's nephew Lot was a bad circumstance providing God an opportunity to bring about good for Abram. Normal reasoning would say that Abram had no obligation to rescue his nephew who had taken advantage of his goodwill when offering first choice of the land. Abram, however, mustered the fighting men within his household and his allies, the Amorites, and gave pursuit to the four kings who took Lot captive along with all his possessions. Attacking by night, Abram sent the four kings packing and retrieved not only Lot and his possessions, but also the possessions of the four kings.
    
    Upon his return, Abram was met by two very different kings. One was the king of Sodom and the other the king of Salem. The king of Salem offered a blessing while the king of Sodom offered a deal. Abram received the blessing from Salem's king Melchizedek, and gave to him a tenth of the spoils he brought back from his defeat of the four kings. However, he rejected the deal offered by the the king of Sodom. The offered deal was that Abram could keep all the possessions but would give all the people to the king. But Abram did not want this wicked king to take credit for any of his wealth, so he returned to the king all possessions that had been taken from Sodom with the exception of the food eaten by his fighting men.