God’s Timeline – Part 22
Abram
and Lot Part
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish
Calendar Year)
-
Creation Week
(Approximately 4000 B.C.)
o Adam, Eve, and the Fall
-
Cain and Abel
o Evil Fills the World
-
Noah Did All God
Commanded Him
o The Flood 2400 – 2300 B.C.)
o God’s Covenant with Noah
-
Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin
-
Nations of Noah’s Sons
-
Tower of Babel
-
God calls Abram (2090
B.C.)
o Abram and Lot part ways
o Rescue of Lot
Abram and Lot have parted
ways. From what we read last week, it appears that Lot and his smaller tribe
were taking from Abram without asking. After many arguments, Abram tells Lot to
chose whichever area he wants, and Abram will go in the opposite direction.
Lot chooses an area in
Sodom. I believe this choice reveals Lot’s heart at the time.
Though there will always
be consequences to our sins and poor choices, what we will see today in
scripture is, even when we mess up, God is watching and trying to correct our
path and relationship with him.
The first half of Genesis
14 tells us about all of those who went to war, and the fact they took everyone
and their goods from the losing cities (including Sodom where Lot was).
After hearing of this
from someone who escaped, Abram put together an army of over 300 soldiers to
retrieve his nephew.
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 14:15-24
“During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and
he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He
recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions,
together with the women and the other people.
17 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).
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and
wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven
and earth.
20 And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your
enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and
keep the goods for yourself.”
22 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, 23
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.’ 24 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.”
I.
WAR
BREAKS OUT
a. The War that Lot found himself in
i.
Lot didn’t want to go
to war
ii.
Lot didn’t want to
lose everything, including his freedom
iii.
However, Lot chose to
live in Sodom
iv.
Lot chose to stay in
Sodom
v.
Lot chose to put his
family, and the entire tribe, in Sodom
vi.
So when war comes,
they are all in the middle of it
b. Lot lost everything, including his freedom
i.
When we make poor
choices, it not only affects us with consequences but if we are leaders,
fathers, heads of tribes, it puts everyone we serve at risk.
ii.
Lot, his family, and
the entire tribe lost everything they had worked for, as well as their freedom.
c. Lot was enslaved and lost until Abram saved him
i.
Lot can serve as a
symbol for those who have chosen to live in and be part of the world (Sodom)
ii.
The consequence of
that choice will lead to ruin, for the man as well as those around him he leads
to their demise.
iii.
Unless someone comes
to his aid and rescue, he will remain lost because of the consequences of his decision
to live in, and take part in the sinful, fallen world.
iv.
Abram represents
salvation. A rescuing.
v.
Abram and his army,
like Christ and His angels, come to the rescue of Lot.
vi.
Something to remember
here, though Lot had strayed from God, God still allowed Abram to rescue him.
1. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” ~ 2 Peter 3:9
vii.
The Lord is giving Lot
every opportunity to repent of his sin and return to a relationship with Him.
viii.
After Abram rescues
Lot, all the people, and all of their possessions, he is met by the Kings
II.
THE KINGS
a. Melchizedek, King of Salem
i.
First, we read the
King of Sodom went out to meet Abram when he first returned from battle. However,
Melchizedek got there first.
ii.
Who is Melchizedek?
1. Psalm 110:4 “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
2. Hebrew 5:5-6 “In the same way, Christ did not take on himself
the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.” 6 And he says in another place, “You are a
priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
3. Melchizedek is a priest “forever”
4. Salem IS Jerusalem! Melchizedek is the Priest of God
Most High!
5. “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the
Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and
blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being
translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king
of peace,” without father, without mother,
without genealogy, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God,
remains a priest continually.”
~ Hebrews 7:1-3
iii.
Melchizedek is the
Lord before He was known as Jesus.
b. Brought forth Bread and Wine
i.
And what does Jesus do
with Abram? Brings out communion.
ii.
Why? Because the Lord
is continually teaching His people about Salvation, Repentance, the sacrifice,
so they would know the way back to God.
iii.
The bread and wine
symbolize the broken body and shed blood of Christ, which was necessary for the
Salvation of mankind.
1. Remember, the Lord taught Adam and Eve this lesson
of sacrifice
2. The Lord also required sacrifice from those outside of
the garden and only those who made the offering the Lord asked for were looked
upon with favor and accepted (this is why Cain wasn’t accepted by the Lord)
3. The Lord even tried to explain it to Cain, if you do
what is “right” you would also be accepted.
iv.
Matthew
26:29; Mark 14; Luke 22:15; Romans 8:21 All
explain the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross
c. The first tithe was paid
i.
Melchizedek blessed
Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and
Earth: and blessed be the Most High God, Who has delivered your enemies into
your hand.”
ii.
The first time
“tithes” is ever mentioned in scripture is here and now.
iii.
Abram, the one who was
Blessed by God, the Patriarch of the lord’s kingdom and all of the people of
God, paid a tithe (meaning a 10th) to Melchizedek the High Priest.
iv.
This was to be given
to those who carry out the Work of God, and why we still do this today.
v.
Then the King of Sodom
arrives to greet Abram
vi.
However, now he is
ready to face the King of Sodom, who is a servant of Satan.
vii.
Abram has been blessed,
taken communion, and paid tithes to the High Priest.
viii.
He is now accepted by
God because he is obedient and considered righteous.
ix.
Ready to face whatever
Satan has planned, which is what Satan always has planned, temptation.
III.
THE KING
OF SODOM
a. Satan working through the King of Sodom to tempt
Abram
i.
Satan tells Abram,
“Give me all the people, and you can take all of the goods for yourself.
ii.
Why? Because Satan’s
only true desire is to return all of the people back to Sodom, and their lives
of sinful living.
iii.
Also, if he gives
riches to Abram, he could lay claim to Abrams wealth for taking part in it, and
try to manipulate and pressure Abram in the future to obey him.
b. Offering everything to Abram but the people
i.
Abram replies to the
King of Sodom that he has lifted his hand to the Lord, the Most High God, the
Possessor of heaven and Earth…in other words, Abram is saying he is beholden to
no man.
c. Abram refuses to take anything from Sodom
i.
Abram then states, “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.’ 24
I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that
belongs to the men who went with me…”
ii.
Remember back when we spoke
about “slaves” a few weeks ago, and how in Abram’s time, slaves were more like
servants who were paid, not like slaves of civil war era?
iii.
Here we see Abram
won’t take anything, because God will provide for Him, however, he wouldn’t
allow his men (slaves) who went to war, to go without what was rightfully
theirs
iv.
They earned their
share, and would receive it.
What we see here is a
story about life, not just then, but a foreshadowing of now.
Lot, the average man,
makes poor decisions and leaves Abram’s tribe where God resides with all of His
benefits and blessings.
Lot finds himself in a
terrible mess, a consequence of living in sin, choosing the world over God, he
loses everything, possessions, freedom, everything.
Abram with his army
rescues Lot from captivity, like Jesus freeing us from the bondage of sin with
Salvation.
After Abrams victorious
return from battle, Melchizedek blesses Abram, has communion with him, and
Abram gives him tithe. Now Abram is accepted by the Lord, blessed, and ready
for his spiritual battle, which comes immediately after through the King of
Sodom.
The King of Sodom offers
Abram all the riches of the city that were taken in battle, and all the King
wants is the people. Destroying lives and sending people to hell for eternity
is all that ever concerns Satan.
Abram, seeing this was
manipulation and wrong, he rebukes the King and doesn’t accept his bribe, so the
King of Sodom would never be able to lay claim to making Abram wealthy.
Next week we will look at a covenant God makes with Abram, and another
teaching of the cross, salvation and the prophecy of what is to come.
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