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Sermons at Trinity Church |
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Genesis 14 ‘ONE MOMENT IN TIME’15th February 2004Jonny Elvin |
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All Bible references in this sermon transcript are taken from the English Standard Version. This can be found at www.biblegateway.com
THE CONSEQUENCES OF LIVING BY FAITH OR BY SIGHT (14.1-15.1) NB last week = living by faith or by sight
‘Give me one moment in time When I’m more than I thought I could be When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away And the answers are all up to me’
So sand Whitney Houston as the theme tune for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It’s what the athletes aim for – a brief moment when they are in the public eye; when they’re in the spotlight and their ambitions can be put to the test. Most of them sink back into relative obscurity, but it’s this one moment when they make their name.
Abram has his ‘one moment in time’ in the spotlight and it’s here in ch14. It’s here that he makes a name for himself to the watching world. Before this he was just a wandering nomad, a rich one yes, but an obscure one. As far as others could see there was nothing that marked him out as God’s appointed heir of the Promised Land. But here in ch14 the people of the Near East see Abram in a new light. He acts as the king of the land that is his by virtue of the promise.
1. The background – war and rebellion 14.1-12
From vv1-16 we have three battle reports, which serve to heighten Abram’s final victory. We’re going to look briefly at the first two now… 1-4 = the Eastern kings vs. Westerners round 1 5-12 = the Eastern kings vs. Westerners round 2 13-16 = Abram vs. the Eastern kings
Battle 1 – The Attack of the Empire vv1-4
In the blue corner we have the Eastern kings:
1In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, (Babylon) Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
They are the regional superpower.
And in the red corner we have the Western kings:
2these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
3And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
Why did the Western kings go to war against the Eastern kings?
4Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
The five Western kings (Sodom and four other city states) had had enough of their subjection by their Iraqi overlords. So they rebelled and went to war to stop paying the international equivalent of council tax. (It’s a bit like pensioners in Devon!) But the eastern Kings were too strong for them and clobbered them. Buoyed up by their ability to conquer all before them they go out to battle the following year against the various inhabitants of the Dead Sea and Canaan. And after conquering various other tribes it’s time for East vs. West part 2
Battle 2 – the Empire Strikes Again vv5-12
Remember 13.13? ‘Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.’ That’s more than a hint that Sodom is living on borrowed time. And that we’re meant to read this defeat in chapter 14 as God’s initial judgement on Sodom.
The characters in vv8-9 are the same as in vv1-2. And the outcome is the same… 10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.
Once again, the Eastern kings clobber the Western ones and carry off Sodom’s wealth – its goods and its people. No one can defeat the Eastern kings! Why do we get all these details of obscure ancient battles? What Genesis 14 is trying to do is to underline the strength of the Eastern Kings as a backdrop to the battle with Abram. But it’s not just bad news for the Western kings – look at the terrible comment in v12 12They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
Remember the lesson from last week? There’s no real protector and provider other than God. Lot had to learn the hard way. I wonder what he was thinking has he is captured and carried off by the invading Iraqi alliance? ‘Stupid old me’, I would think!
Lot’s choice of where to live doesn’t seem so wise right now. It looked better at the time, but it’s led him to defeat and captivity. That’s what happens to you if you ‘drop your anchor’ in Sodom or anywhere like it.
Think again of that picture of Lot and where his faith was ‘anchored’. Why is it foolish to anchor our security, our well-being, our hopes in anything (or any relationship, come to that) in this world? Well, because this world is fallen, and ultimately heading for judgement at the return of Jesus – when as Hebrews 12.26 puts it, God ‘will shake not only the earth but the heavens’:
And God in his goodness shakes things this side of this judgement to teach us that. That’s what Lot should have learned from the shake-up of Sodom (but, as we’ll see later in the series, didn’t). And that’s what we should learn from shake-ups today. The stock-market collapse that wipes out our profits. The housing bubble that bursts. The inflation that wrecks our saving plans. The thief who burgles our home or nicks our car. The things that break down or need endless repair. And so on. The lesson is: there is no secure anchor for our lives but God. Because he alone is unshakable.
It’s into this scenario that Abram comes for the third great battle.
2. Abram to the rescue! 14.13-16
In v13 Abram hears what’s happened to Lot and so, v14, he and his men pursue their enemies for 150 miles up to Dan. This is where he comes up with a cunning plan: v15 tells us that he divides up his troops and attacks at night and wops the all-conquering Eastern forces – all four armies, and rescues the captives. 16Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Abram is the man! Move over king Ched.
What’s
really cool is that he does it with only 318 men! That’s an extraordinary
feat.
Who does this remind you of? Battling against evil forces in order to save the lost. Not fighting to save himself or make himself rich or assert his authority as the rightful ruler. But fighting to rescue others. Even though those they save are unworthy. Even though the enemy forces don’t end up recognising his sovereignty over them. Doesn’t this remind you of Jesus? He didn’t sit idly in heaven waiting for us to deserve to be redeemed. If he had an eternity would have passed without our salvation.
But seeing us captive to sin and death and hell sought to rescue us against the odds, at great cost to himself. He was willing to leave the glories of heaven and take the form of a servant in our midst. And in our hour of need he was not only willing to take risks for his own people, the Jews, but he was also willing to risk all for Jew and gentile alike. He died for all on the cross as our Great High priest – the one whose sacrifice of himself shows his great love for us
Well, Abram’s victory gets him instantly famous. You don’t beat the resident superpower without people hearing about it. If this had been today he would have no doubt been invited onto ‘I’m a celebrity – get me out of here!’ and lunchtime with Des and Mel.
His fame leads to one of the most obscure characters in the Bible emerging from the shadows for a brief moment. Abram’s victory leads to the centre-piece of this story – the three-way discussion between Abram, the king of Sodom and the mysterious Melchizedek.
3. Melchizedek blesses Abram 14.17-24
After his victory, Abram is faced with another struggle – more subtle than the battle he’s just been through, but just as dangerous. Following his great victory will he go the way of righteousness or the way of the world – will he give or will he take – will he honour God or will he take the glory for himself?
Well, the two kings come out to greet him. One a believer, one an unbeliever. First, the unbeliever, 17After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
Then out comes the believer, v18: 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)
The attitude of the two men towards Abram is striking. King Ched’s begrudging is in stark contrast to Melchizedek, who blesses Abram and Abram, who is generous to those he has saved.
Melchizedek looks through the eyes of faith at this extraordinary victory and in v19 says, ‘Abram, God is clearly blessing you, clearly on your side, clearly your protector and provider’. And then he encourages Abram to give God the glory for what’s happened, v20: ‘And blessed be God Most High [not you, not your 318 men, not your tactics, but God most High], who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And Abram blesses God, i.e. gives God the glory, at the end of v20, by giving him a tenth of all the plunder.
If our anchor is really in ‘God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,’ then we won’t ultimately attribute our successes and blessings to ourselves, or to luck, or to fortune, or to good revision plans – or to anything but God.
The 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon used to say, ‘Never praise secondary causes.’ I.e. God is the ultimate source of all protection and provision. God is the ultimate source of our incomes. God is the ultimate source of our abilities – that enable us to get those exam results, that university place, that job. And so on. And if, as v19 says, we believe God is the ultimate source of all our blessings, then v20 we will bless him in return – i.e. thank him and give him the glory.
And one way we do that is through our financial giving, end of v20. We give to the LORD a percentage of what we receive from him as a token of our belief that it’s all, 100%, from him and rightfully his and that we can trust him with our lives. That’s the believer’s reaction.
Finally, the unbeliever’s reaction, v21, 21And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." King Bera shows unbelievable arrogance – as if he had any right to demand anything in this situation – he’s the one who’s been defeated!
But it’s a very subtle temptation for Abram: ‘Here’s the chance to boost your bank-balance, Abram. Keep it as a buffer against hard times. Remember: money’s what really protects and provides.’
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand [Or I have taken a solemn oath]] to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.' 24I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."
Abram wants the watching world to know that God is protecting and providing for him and he doesn’t need the world’s funds and the world’s methods to provide for him. So he gives back to the people of Sodom rather than getting richer at their expense.
One of the things that first impressed me about Christians was their willingness to give generously. Who else gives 10%< of their income for the good of others?
And as Christians we give without expecting to get back – not just our money, but our time, our energy, our prayers. As with Abram what we want is God’s approval and his name to be honoured.
Well, having done the right thing, having put God first above material considerations, Abram (presumably) heads back to his tent, while the kings head back to their cities and plush residences. And the temptation for Abram would be to think, ‘What have I done? All that money I’ve just kissed goodbye. All that extra security gone.’ And you can imagine his mind being full of ‘If only’s and ‘What if…?’s – not least, ‘What if Chedorlaomer and his chums come back looking for me?’
I don’t know what your material insecurities, needs, fears are. But I do know that for all of us ‘If only’s and ‘What if…?’s are never far from our minds – especially when we make choices that refuse to put material considerations first, but put Christ first. And we wonder, ‘Who’ll look after me if I live by faith and not by sight? Who’ll look after me if I put obedience to God first, above any material considerations? Who’ll look out for me if I don’t look out for number one?’ And the answer is found in 15.1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [your protector] your very great reward." [your provider]
The answer is: the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth will look out for us, if we have entrusted our lives to him. And as it says in Romans 8.32, ‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’ Not all the things we want. But all the things that he knows are really good for us this side of heaven. And then the unimaginably good life of heaven itself. There is no greater security than that. Let’s pray…
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