| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Genesis Chapter
Fourteen
Genesis 14
Chapter Contents
The battle of the kings, Lot is taken prisoner. (1-12)
Abram rescues Lot. (13-16) Melchizedek blesses Abram. (17-20) Abram restores
the spoil. (21-24)
Commentary on Genesis 14:1-12
The wars of nations make great figure in history, but we
should not have had the record of this war if Abram and Lot had not been
concerned. Out of covetousness, Lot had settled in fruitful, but wicked Sodom.
Its inhabitants were the most ripe for vengeance of all the descendants of
Canaan. The invaders were from Chaldea and Persia, then only small kingdoms.
They took Lot among the rest, and his goods. Though he was righteous, and
Abram's brother's son, yet he was with the rest in this trouble. Neither our
own piety, nor our relation to the favourites of Heaven, will be our security
when God's judgments are abroad. Many an honest man fares the worse for his
wicked neighbours: it is our wisdom to separate, or at least to distinguish
ourselves from them, 2 Corinthians 6:17. So near a relation of Abram
should have been a companion and a disciple of Abram. If he chose to dwell in
Sodom, he must thank himself if he share in Sodom's losses. When we go out of
the way of our duty, we put ourselves from under God's protection, and cannot
expect that the choice made by our lusts, should end to our comfort. They took
Lot's goods; it is just with God to deprive us of enjoyments, by which we
suffer ourselves to be deprived of the enjoyment of him.
Commentary on Genesis 14:13-16
Abram takes this opportunity to give a real proof of his
being truly friendly to Lot. We ought to be ready to succour those in distress,
especially relations and friends. And though others may have been wanting in
their duty to us, yet we must not neglect our duty to them. Abram rescued the
captives. As we have opportunity, we must do good to all.
Commentary on Genesis 14:17-20
Melchizedek is spoken of as a king of Salem, supposed to
be the place afterwards called Jerusalem, and it is generally thought that he
was only a man. The words of the apostle, Hebrews 7:3, state only, that the sacred history
has said nothing of his ancestors. The silence of the Scriptures on this, is to
raise our thoughts to Him, whose generation cannot be declared. Bread and wine
were suitable refreshment for the weary followers of Abram; and it is
remarkable that Christ appointed the same as the memorials of his body and
blood, which are meat and drink indeed to the soul. Melchizedek blessed Abram
from God. He blessed God from Abram. We ought to give thanks for other's
mercies as for our own. Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, is the Mediator
both of our prayers and praises, and not only offers up ours, but his own for
us. Abram gave him the tenth of the spoils, Hebrews 7:4. When we have received some great
mercy from God, it is very fit we should express our thankfulness by some
special act of pious charity. Jesus Christ, our great Melchisedek, is to have
homage done him, and to be humbly acknowledged as our King and Priest; not only
the tithe of all, but all we have, must be given up to him.
Commentary on Genesis 14:21-24
Observe the king of Sodom's grateful offer to Abram, Give
me the souls, and take thou the substance. Gratitude teaches us to recompense
to the utmost of our power, those that have undergone fatigues, run hazards,
and been at expense for our service and benefit. Abram generously refused this
offer. He accompanies his refusal with a good reason, Lest thou shouldest say,
I have made Abram rich: which would reflect upon the promise promise and
covenant of God, as if He would not have enriched Abraham without the spoils of
Sodom. The people of God must, for their credit's sake, take heed of doing any
thing that looks mean or mercenary, or that savors of covetousness and
self-seeking. Abraham can trust the Possessor of Heaven and earth to provide
for him.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Genesis》
Genesis 14
Verse 1
[1] And
it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar,
Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
We have here an account of the first war that
ever we read of in scripture, in which we may observe. [1.] The parties engaged
in it. The invaders were four kings; two of them no less than kings of Shinar
and Elam - That is, Chaldea and Persia; yet probably not the sovereign princes
of those great kingdoms, but rather the heads of some colonies which came out
thence, and settled themselves near Sodom, but retained the names of the
countries from which they had their original. The invaded were the kings of
five cities that lay near together in the plain of Jordan, Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. [2.] The occasion of this war was, the revolt of the
five kings from under the government of Chedorlaomer.
Verse 4
[4] Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they
rebelled.
Twelve years they served him — The Sodomites were the posterity of Canaan, whom Noah had pronounced a
servant to Shem, from whom Elam descended. Thus soon did that prophecy begin to
be fulfilled. In the thirteenth year, beginning to be weary of their
subjection, they rebelled - Denied their tribute, and attempted to shake off
the yoke.
Verse 5
[5] And
in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and
smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims
in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
In the fourteenth year — After some pause and preparation, Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his
allies, set himself to reduce the revolters. (For [1.],[2.]) [3.] The progress
of the war. The four kings laid the neighbouring countries waste, and enriched
themselves with the spoil of them, Genesis 14:5,6,7. Upon the alarm of which, the
king of Sodom and his allies went out and were routed.
Verse 13
[13] And
there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the
plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these
were confederate with Abram.
We have here an account of the only military
action we ever find Abram engaged in; and this he was not prompted to by
avarice or ambition, but purely by a principle of charity.
Verse 14
[14] And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his
trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and
pursued them unto Dan.
He armed his trained servants, born in his
house — To the number of three hundred and
eighteen: a great family, but a small army; about as many as Gideon's that
routed the Midianites, Judges 7:7. He drew out his trained servants, or
his catechized servants; not only instructed in the art of war, but instructed
in the principles of religion; for Abram commanded his household to keep the
way of the Lord.
Verse 16
[16] And
he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his
goods, and the women also, and the people.
His brother Lot —
That is, his kinsman.
Verse 18
[18] And
Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest
of the most high God.
The Rabbins say, that Melchizedek was Shem
the son of Noah, who was king and priest to those that descended from him,
according to the patriarchal model. Many Christian writers have thought that
this was an appearance of the Son of God himself, our Lord Jesus, known to
Abram at this time by this name. But as nothing is expressly revealed
concerning it, we can determine nothing. He brought forth bread and wine - For
the refreshment of Abram and his soldiers, and in congratulation of their
victory. This he did as a king. As priest of the most high God he blessed
Abram, which we may suppose a greater refreshment to Abram than his bread and
wine were.
Verse 19
[19] And
he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of
heaven and earth:
Blessed be Abram, of the most high God — Observe the titles he here gives to God, which are very glorious. 1. The
most high God, which speaks his absolute perfections in himself, and his
sovereign dominion over all the creatures. 2.
Possessor of heaven and earth — That is, rightful owner and sovereign Lord of all the creatures; because
he made them.
Verse 20
[20] And
blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.
And he gave him tithes of all.
And blessed be the most high God — Note, 1. In all our prayers we must praise God, and join hallelujahs
with all our hosannas. These are the spiritual sacrifices we must offer up
daily, and upon particular occasions. 2. God as the most high God must have the
glory of all our victories. In them he shews himself higher than our enemies,
and higher than we, for without him we could do nothing.
And he gave him tithes of all — That is, of the spoils, Hebrews 7:4. This may be looked upon, (1.) As a
gratuity presented to Melchizedek, by way of return for his respects. (2.) As
an offering dedicated to the most high God, and therefore put into the hands of
Melchizedek his priest. Jesus Christ, our great Melchizedek, is to be humbly
acknowledged by every one of us as our king and priest, and not only the tithe
of all, but all we have, must be given up to him.
Verse 21
[21] And
the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to
thyself.
Give me the souls, and take thou the
substance — So the Hebrew reads it. Here he fairly
begs the persons, but as freely bestows the goods on Abram. Gratitude teaches
us to recompense to the utmost of our power those that have undergone fatigues,
or been at expence for our service.
Verse 22
[22] And
Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the
most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
I have lift up mine hand to the Lord that I
will not take anything — Here Observe, (1.) The titles he gives to
God, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth - The same that
Melchizedek had just now used. It is good to learn of others how to order our
speech concerning God, and to imitate those who speak well in divine things.
(2.) The ceremony used in this oath; I have lift up my hand - In religious
swearing we appeal to God's knowledge of our truth and sincerity, and imprecate
his wrath if we swear falsely; and the lifting up of the hands is expressive of
both.
Lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram
rich — Probably, Abram knew the king of Sodom to
be a proud and scornful man, and one that would be apt to turn such a thing as
this to his reproach afterwards, and when we have to do with such men, we have
need to act with particular caution.
Verse 23
[23] That
I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take
any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
From a thread to a shoe-latchet — Not the least thing that had ever belonged to the king of Sodom.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on
Genesis》
14 Chapter 14
Verses 1-12
These made war
The first war on record
I.
AS
TO ITS MOTIVES.
1. Ambition.
2. Plunder.
3. The desire to recover lost sovereignty.
II. AS TO THE
CONDITIONS OF ITS SUCCESS. From the failure of human foresight, and the endless
complications of events, it may happen that the battle is not always to the
strong; still there are general conditions of success. Some of these may be
seen in the instance before us.
1. By depriving the enemy of all friendly help.
2. By favourable physical conditions.
3. By moral causes.
III. AS TO ITS
RESULTS.
1. That men often suffer who take no part in the quarrel.
2. That the vanquished do not always benefit by the discipline of
adversity. (T. H. Leale.)
Hints for teaching
I. See here an
example and contrast of UNLAWFUL AND LAWFUL WAR. Chedorlaomer and Abram both
went to war: but the former did so from pride, covetousness, and hatred to his
neighbours; the latter from love to his neighbour, pity for the innocent
captives, affection for his kindred, and zeal for right. The outward act was
the same, but the motives as different as light and darkness. But could not God
have delivered Lot and the other captives without Abram’s interference?
Certainly; but God commonly works by means, not by miracle; and this was the
means He chose, to humble the pride of the oppressor, to deliver the injured,
to exercise the faith and courage and energy of Abram and his servants, and to
put honour on Abram. War is always a dreadful thing; it must also be a most
wicked thing, except only when the great law of love to our neighbour requires
it 1 Kings 8:44; Judges 6:12; Judges 6:14; Judges 6:16; Romans 13:4).
II. MELCHIZEDEK is
one of the most remarkable OLD TESTAMENT TYPES OF CHRIST (see Psalms 110:4; Zechariah 6:11-13; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:1-3). By this I understand, not
that Melchizedek personally, during his lifetime, was a type of Christ to Abram
or his contemporaries; but that the history of Melchizedek’s interview with
Abram is so recorded, by Divine inspiration, as to supply an image of Christ.
The type lies not in the man, but in the Scripture record. St. Paul expresses
this by saying he was “made like unto the Son of God,” i.e., made in the
history a figure of Him. In his names and title, “King of righteousness” and
“King of peace” (Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 32:1; Isaiah 32:17). (The Congregational
Pulpit.)
War
I. THE MARAUDING
CHIEFTAINS.
1. Their names suggestive of character. Heads of savage and
wandering tribes; having their headquarters in the plain of Shinar and
neighbourhood.
2. Cause of this recorded war not given. Probably to be referred
exclusively to the cause stated (James 4:1). Doubtless plunder and tribute
the chief objects sought.
3. Falling upon the kings of the plain, most probably by surprise,
they were victorious. Levied tribute and returned.
4. Tribute paid during twelve years; declined in the thirteenth
year. By this time the kings of the plain thought they were strong enough to
resist; had probably organized resistance.
5. Chedorlaomer and his confederates march to enforce payment,
taking and plundering various cities on their way (Genesis 14:5-7).
6. Battle of the Vale of Siddim. The kings of the plain hemmed in
and destroyed. The nature of the ground facilitating their overthrow.
II. THE CAPTURE OF
LOT.
1. He was in Sodom when it was taken (Genesis 14:11-12). He now suffers the
penalty of his folly. “He that soweth to the wind shall reap the whirlwind.”
2. Perils arising from worldly choice and ungodly companions. Young
people often suffer through their companions. Lot lost the property for the
increase of which he was so anxious. He trusted more to the strong walls and
untried friends in Sodom than in the living God. “This their way is their
folly.”
3. A hopeless captivity and poverty are now before him. From what
quarter could he expect deliverance?
III. THE BRAVERY OF
ABRAM.
1. He hears the news.
2. Summons his confederates. This an alliance for mutual protection and
defence.
3. Collects and arms his trained servants. These, with the retainers
of his friends, make a numerous band.
4. Marches in pursuit of Chedorlaomer. Might have abandoned Lot to
his fate. Hurries through the country and overtakes the spoilers and their
captives at Daniel
5. The night attack. Surprise of Lot. Abram to the rescue. The
forces divide, that the enemies’ camp may be attacked from various sides at
once. Consternation and rout of the confederate kings of the east, and the
rescue of Lot.
6. The kings not only routed, but pursued and slain. A guarantee of
freedom in the future from molestation. LEARN--
I. Evils of war;
desolation carried through a great country and into many cities and homes. The
innocent perish with the guilty.
II. Results of
thoughtless choice of home and friends.
III. Friend in need
is a friend indeed. Abram prosperous does not abandon Lot in adversity.
IV. Jesus, the
great conqueror, delivers our captive souls. (J. C. Gray.)
The battle of the kings Melchizedek
I. IN ITS LITERAL
ASPECTS, WE SHALL CONSIDER THE OCCASION OF ABRAHAM’S CONFLICT HIS SPIRIT AND
CONDUCT IN IT AND HIS BEHAVIOUR AFTER IT.
1. The occasion. It was necessary that depredators should be kept in
check, and the plan adopted by Abraham was the only one possible in that age.
Abraham was not actuated by love of conquest or desire of gain, still less by a
spirit of revenge. He merely sought to deliver those who had unjustly been made
captives, and to recover stolen property. His functions, as warrior, were
essentially those of our modem police. It seems impossible to find fault with
his conduct in entering on such an expedition; and thus far it would be easy to
show the allowability and even the duty of engaging in defensive war. You will
also see how piety and faith do not unfit a man for the active duties of life;
or even for bold and heroic enterprises, when these come in the way of duty.
Religion does not unman us. It does not make us effeminate, or cowards. Rather,
it ennobles and strengthens our whole nature.
2. Abraham’s conduct in the fight. It was distinguished by
generosity, valour, prudence, righteousness, and faith. It is not hard to
account for his victory.
3. His behaviour after it. We see this in his conduct toward
Melchizedek; and in his conduct toward the king of Sodom. He presented to God a
tithe of all the spoils, which at once displayed his piety, and rebuked the
idolatry of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain. From motives of piety,
we may explain his conduct to the king of Sodom. He refused any reward for ills
services. This he did, in order to evince the purity of his motives; also in
order to avoid undue fellowship with idolaters. This behaviour was the more
necessary because of the false position in which Lot had placed himself. And
here we see the folly of mingling closely with the ungodly. Lot could not
rebuke the Sodomites, for why had he come to live among them? Neither did he
gain anything, but lost much, by preferring their country on account of its
wealth and fertility.
II. APPLY IT TO
OUR SPIRITUAL HISTORY.
1. The believer is called to fight against many foes. This is not a
fiction, but a reality; nor is this a despicable, but a most important species
of conflict. Our enemies are spiritual spoliators.
2. Let us consider the spiritual Melchizedek, and our relation to
him.
3. See in this history how far God notices the wars and commotions
of the world. Only so far as they stand connected with the history and welfare
of His people. We should do well to cultivate the same spirit; and judge of all
events by the light of the Word of God. And then we shall be better able to
comprehend the real importance of mundane changes and events; while we learn to
be patient and hopeful under all adverse circumstances, for we know that God
will take care of us; and the path of duty will be the path of safety. (The
Congregational Pulpit.)
War
Prince Eugene, speaking of war, said, “The thirst of renown
sometimes insinuates itself into our councils, under the garb of national
honour. It dwells on imaginary insults; it suggests harsh and abusive language;
the people go on from one thing to another, till they put an end to the lives
of half a million of men. A military man becomes so sick of bloody scenes in
war, that in peace he is averse to recommence them. I wish that the first
minister, who is called to decide on peace and war, had only seen actual
service.” (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Salt Sea
The Dead Sea a special memento of the doom that awaits the wicked
Near the southeast corner of Palestine is a body of water more
remarkable in some respects than any other on the earth. Though the Jordan is
annually pouring a vast quantity of fresh water into this remarkable lake, its
own water is intensely salt, exceeding in saltness that of the ocean; and so
great is its specific gravity that “one floats easily on its surface, as if
reclining on a couch.” He who bathes in it can, as Mr. Stephens affirms, lie on
the water and read or even sleep; but when he comes out, his body will smart
and burn, and he will find himself partially incrusted with salt. This
mysterious lake has no visible outlet, and yet, strange to say, it never
overflows. By means of evaporation it preserves nearly the same level
throughout the year. No vessels are seen on its bosom, no fish are found
darting through its saline waters, and neither grass nor flowers nor green
trees are found in its immediate vicinity. A silence like that of the tomb
broods over it, and its entire aspect is dreary, dismal, and desolate in the
extreme. In view of these facts, it is not strange that what in our text Moses
calls “the Salt Sea” should in modern times be denominated the Dead Sea; for,
perhaps, no better emblem of death and desolation could be found on the face of
the globe. But has this mysterious sea always existed? Has the gloom and
desolation that now marks the spot always reigned there? Ah, no! The spot now
occupied by the Salt Sea was once a part of the fertile valley of the Jordan;
and the tramp of armed men was once heard where now an almost unbroken silence
prevails. What has produced this marvellous change? What throe of nature, what
mighty power, has transformed the Vale of Siddim into a salt, sluggish,
unnavigated lake, having naught but its history to render it attractive? The
answer is found in Genesis 19:24-25. So filthy and
unutterably loathsome had the doings of the Sodomites and their neighbours
become, that God saw fit not only to put an end to their vile career, but to
make the very spot they occupied, the very cities they dwelt in, a visible and
abiding monument of His abhorrence of sin, and of what all who persist in sin
have to expect. He saw fit to convert a fertile and populous valley into a
scene of desolation and ruin; to bury beneath the waters of the Dead Sea a
tract of earth which its inhabitants had so awfully defiled. God’s object in
all this was, to “make them an ensample unto those that after should live
ungodly.” And to render the lesson more effectual, He chose to set up, on the
spot once occupied by those cities, a striking remembrance of their wickedness,
and of the vengeance that overtook them. As a tombstone reminds us of our
mortality, or as a rainbow reminds us of a deluged world, so should the Dead
Sea, whether actually seen or only thought of, prove an impressive memento of
“the wrath to come.” Hear its warning voice, ye worldlings and sensualists, and
become wise! else a desolation will soon overtake you that is far gloomier and
more terrible than that which now broods over the buried cities of the plain. (T.
Williston.)
They rebelled
Lessons
1. Ambition delays no time:
when it hath power to revenge any affronts against it. Prom the time considered
with the assailants.
2. Usually unjust rebellions are followed with severe destructions,
and that speedily.
3. Ambition labours to get confederates and engage them with itself
for its own ends.
4. Usurping ambition when it is powerful is very cruel, smiting,
killing.
5. Ambitious oppressors spare not nations in their power. They
destroy nations not a few. Such is the rant of the Assyrian (Isaiah 37:1-38).
6. Usurping tyrants pursue after blood when they have once tasted
it.
7. God’s overruling providence maketh wicked men execute vengeance
upon each other for their wickedness.
8. Ambitious usurpers destroy all that is in their way to their
unjust ends (Genesis 14:5-7). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Kiriathaim
Kiriathaim
We have here some of the most ancient houses of which the world
can boast. As Porter remarks, they are just such dwellings as a race of giants
would build. The walls and roofs, but especially the ponderous gates, doors,
and bars, are in every way characteristic of a period when architecture was in
its infancy, when giants were masons, and when strength and security were the
grand requisites. The heavy stone slabs of the roofs resting on the massive
walls make the structure as firm as if built of solid masonry, and the black
basalt used is almost as hard as iron. There can scarcely be a doubt that these
are the cities erected and inhabited by the Pephaim--that on these masses of
masonry, which Ritter remarks now stand as constant witnesses of the conquest
of Bashan by Jehovah, Abram gazed--and that amid these secure strongholds
Chedorlaomer and his Elamite warriors roamed ere they attacked the kings in the
Vale of Siddim. Yet how dreary now! (W. Adamson.)
Horites
Horites
1. These received their name
from dwelling in caves. Strabo says that the life of these cave dwellers was
nomadic. They are governed by tyrants, wear skins, and carry spears and shields
which are covered with raw hides. They anoint their bodies with a mixture of
blood and milk, drink an infusion of buckthorn, and travel and tend their
flocks by night.
2. It is interesting to know that the excavated dwellings of the
Horites are still found in hundreds in the sandstone cliffs and mountains of
Edom, and especially in Petra. Some of them, Wilson says, have windows as well
as doors. In front of others are receptacles for water. They are all
approachable by a common way. The region is now a habitation of
dragons--literally, as Irby says, swarming with lizards and scorpions, etc.
3. Mount Hor, upon which Aaron died, is a striking summit. Mangles
remarks that an artist who would study rock scenery in all its wildest and most
extravagant forms, and in colours, which, to no one who has not seen them,
would scarcely appear to be in nature, would find himself rewarded should he
resort to Mount Her for that purpose. (W. Adamson.)
Mountain flight
1. When the South African
chief, Sekukuni, who had ravaged the borders of the white man’s land, was
assailed by the English soldiers, he and his followers fled to a mountain, and
hid themselves in the caves and recesses.
2. History relates how it was usual for the Vaudois, when attacked
by the Papal troops, to remove their families and goods for security to the
Alpine heights and caverns, where they could make a firm stand against their
merciless foes.
3. The Archbishop of Tyre relates that when Baldwin IV, one of the
Crusade kings of Jerusalem, ravaged the fruitful valley of Bacar, the
inhabitants fled to the mountains, whither his troops could not easily follow
them.
4. D’Arvieux says that in his time, when the Arabs attacked the
rebel peasants of the Holy Land in the plain of Gonin, they fled towards the
hills, and there, hiding themselves, were secure from attack or pursuit.
5. This explains the statement here that the defeated Sodomites, who
escaped from the field of battle, betook themselves to a mountain. And it is
supposed that among the fugitives thus secure from the Elamite attack was the
king of Sodom.
6. It is worthy of notice that in the solemn woe on Mount Olives the
Lord employs this figure in connection with the Roman armies: “Then let them
which are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Luke 21:21). See also Revelation 6:15. (W. Adamson.)
Lessons
1. Sinners’ advantages may
prove contrary, to be disadvantages to them.
2. Pits may take those who intend them for others (Psalms 9:1-20).
3. God makes sinners fly and die, and be dispersed by sinners.
4. Pits and mountains are chosen to perish in by flesh, rather than
the sword of their enemies.
5. Ambitious wars make havoc and lay waste, by killing, plundering,
and starving all that be in their way (Genesis 14:11).
6. Wars in the world sometimes prove very prejudicial to the
innocent Church of God.
7. Ambitious conquerors spare neither good nor bad. All they have is
spoiled.
8. It is bad sitting down for the saints among the tents of the
wicked. He that chooseth their pleasures, shall feel their pains. (G.
Hughes, B. D.)
When Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his
trained servants
Abram as a warrior
I.
IN
THE CAUSE OF MAN.
1. The sacredness of natural affection.
2. The noble generosity which forgets the faults of friends or
kindred in their distress.
3. The heroism which sacrifices self for the benefit of others.
II. IN THE CAUSE
OF GOD.
1. His engaging in war cannot be accounted for, except on the
supposition that he had a Divine warrant for his conduct.
2. He wages war as the ruler and proprietor, by Divine right, of the
land. (T. H.Leale.)
The blessed life illustrated in the history of Abraham
And now what think you Abraham shall do? Away in Hebron he dwells
hidden in his pavilion from the strife of men, kept in perfect peace,
untroubled amidst his flocks and herds, wrapped in communion with God. As the
messenger arrives and inquires for him, do they go forth to find him at the
altar and in prayer? Do they tell him the latest news--all about “Chedorlaomer
king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and
Arioch king of Ellasar?” Think of the holy man, waving them away with his hand,
indignant at the interruption. “What is all that to me? Do you know that I am
seeking a country out of sight, and that I am but a pilgrim here?
It is not for me, called with so high a calling, to trouble myself
with such things, or indeed to heed them. Leave me to my altar and to my God.”
And he turns again to pray. If he had done so the blessed life would not have
been his. Many a man has tried to overcome this world by running away from it,
but has never succeeded. The life that loses all interest in this world, in its
politics, in its business, and thousand interests, is not the blessed life. You
may baptize this selfish indifference with any sentimental name you
please--call it, if you will, heavenly-mindedness: but it remains as ugly as
ever. So long as I am in this world, so long ought its concerns to concern me,
and its interests to interest me. Selfish isolation will not make me any more
of an angel, only less of a man. The blessed life, the life of communion with
God and surrender to Him, does not give me a pair of wings to fly away from the
world; it does much better than that, it teaches me how to put the world under
my feet and keep it there. Turn the message round a little, and there is
another aspect of it worth dwelling upon: “Lot is taken, Abram’s brother’s son.”
What shall he say? “What have I to do with Lot? we have dissolved partnership.
He has gone his way, and I have gone mine; and we have no further dealings
together. He cannot complain, for I do him no wrong; he made his choice, and I
had to accept what was not good enough for him. He knew the people that he was
going amongst, and has only himself to blame. If I were in trouble he certainly
would not go far to help me.” Abraham could not have said so: depend upon it we
cannot either, if our life is the life of surrender to God and communion with
Him. Very significant is the first word: “And when Abram heard that his
brother”--Do you think it is a misprint? I think not. He was only a nephew in
prosperity, but in trouble he is a brother. That is the blessed life, when
every man is in true relation to us; but sorrow makes men very much nearer and
more to us. Many an earnest man misses the blessed life just at this point. You
think you can quite justify the indignation you feel. Your position and natural
feeling require that there should be an explanation or apology before you can
render any help. So the opportunity is lost; and who, think you, is the loser,
he whom I might have helped, or I? I who might have been a blessing shall be
unblessed. But turn the incident round again, and let another light fall upon
it. However much concerned about Lot, and however eager to help him, what can
Abraham do? The case was really a desperate one. The mightiest monarchs
probably in the world had combined their forces and conquered all the nations
that dwelt in their course. There was one thing that he could do: perhaps only
one,--things are never so desperate but that we can pray about them,--and that
Abraham did pray comes out later in the chapter: “I have lift up mine hand unto
the Lord, the most high God.” As to fighting in relation to the blessed life, I
do not know that I need say more than this: that when God bids us fight and
promises to go with us, then let us go forth as bravely as Abraham, but till
then let us try to “live peaceably with all men.” But the great thing for us to
heed is this, our faith must be after the pattern and spirit of Abraham’s.
There must be the same indignation against wrong. Cold-blooded indifference,
that goes on its way never seeing the misery of men and women, never heeding
the want of our poor humanity, is simply devilish; and not much better is the
sentimentality that cannot bear to see what others have to endure. Abraham was
not a man of war, he was a man of peace: a man perhaps almost too ready for
compromise. But his brother suffers--then Abraham cannot be quiet: all his soul
is stirred within him. Nor does his indignation waste itself only in pity. He
goes forth for his deliverance, with all the help he can get; he is away to
help this brother of his as much as in him lies. (M. G. Pearse.)
The victorious warrior
In this chapter Abram appears in a new character. He had
encouraged Lot to separate from him for the sake of peace, and now we find him
taking up arms at the head of a confederacy of Amorite chiefs, and contending
against Elam, then the ruling power in that part of Asia. When Lot went to live
in the Jordan valley, the kings of the Pentapolis acknowledged the suzerainty
of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and paid him an annual tribute. At length,
however, they had rebelled, and Chedorlaomer, with three tributary kings, after
sweeping down upon the surrounding tribes, defeated the allied army in the
Valley of Siddim. The foreign host then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah, “took Lot
and his goods” (Genesis 14:12), and withdrew up the
Jordan valley, laden with booty and captives.
I. ABRAM’S RESCUE
OF LOT (Genesis 14:13-16). In this Abram showed--
1. A magnanimous and generous spirit. He did not say to himself,
“Serve him right; my ungrateful nephew has made his bed, and I shall allow him
to lie upon it.” His natural affection and family spirit, together with the
grace of God reigning in his heart, would not permit him to cherish any secret
satisfaction in connection with Lot’s punishment.
2. Martial prowess. In the sudden arming of his household, the
gathering of his Amorite allies, the rapid march to the springs of the Jordan,
the skilful tactics adopted in the attack, and the pursuit of the flying foe as
far as Damascus, Abram discovered not only great gallantry, but also brilliant
generalship. He employed the same tactics which Gideon used long afterwards to
surprise the Midianites (Judges 7:16), which Sauladopted against
the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:11), and which have
commended themselves to the greatest generals in all ages. What a contrast is
presented here between the patriarch’s distrustful timidity in Egypt Genesis 12:12-13), and the heroism which
he displayed in the rescue of his kinsman! It was “by faith” that Abram fought
to recover Lot, and “in the fear of the Lord is strong confidence.”
II. ABRAM’S
MEETING WITH THE KING OF SODOM (Genesis 14:17; Genesis 14:21-24).
1. Abram’s personal disinterestedness and independence (Genesis 14:22-23). Abram was not “seeking
his own” when he went forth to rescue Lot, and he will accept nothing for
having done his duty. The Lord whom he serves has made him heir of the whole
land, and he cannot receive any portion of his inheritance from man, least of
all from the representative of the filthy Sodomites.
2. His considerateness of the claims of others (Genesis 14:24). He is generous, but he
does not forget to be just. His own young men shall have only what of the spoil
they have used as rations--a portion which, of course, could not be returned;
but his allies, Aner, Esheol, and Mature, are entitled to their fair share of
the plunder, and this cannot in equity be taken from them, except with their
consent.
III. ABRAM’S
INTERVIEW WITH MELCHIZEDEK (Genesis 14:18-20). How marked the
contrast between the patriarch’s attitude towards the King of Sodom and his
conduct to this King of Salem! He saw in the former the chief representative of
the wicked heathen Pentapolis, but he recognized in the latter “the priest of
the Most High God” (Genesis 14:18). So, while he maintained a
dignified reserve in his interview with the King of Sodom, and refused to
receive any benefit at his hands, he accepted refreshment for both body and
spirit from Melchizedek. In his dealings with Melchizedek two traits in
Abraham’s character are brought out.
1. His recognition of the communion of saints. The patriarch
discerned in this royal priest--although he was a stranger, and perhaps a
Hamite--a faith and piety closely akin with his own. These two eminent
personages met on the basis of a common worship, involving a common confession
of monotheism.
2. His profound humility as a man of faith. “He that had the
promises” Hebrews 7:6) felt himself honoured in
being blessed by this Canaanite pontiff, and in offering his tithes to God
through him.
LESSONS:
1. Trust in God enables its possessor to be helpful to his fellow
men, while it also keeps him exalted above all who are not like-minded with
himself. We may well covet earnestly the wonder-working faith which Abram
manifested in this great achievement.
2. We must beware lest the Jew beat us in noble behaviour. He can be
great! He can forgive vile injuries!
3. Abram, in declining to retain any of the spoil for himself, acted
under the guidance of a great principle, and not of the custom of the times,
reminding us thereby that moral principle, rather than the example of others,
ought to be our rule of action.
4. It casts a dark light upon the character of Lot that he should
have allowed himself to return to Sodom after his rescue by Abraham, instead of
seeing that he had suffered a punishment which was not only fully deserved, but
also plainly premonitory.
5. “The sight of some men disfigures us. We feel after being with
them that we can never be mean again. Abram had seen Melchizedek, and the King
of Sodom dwindled into a common man. Abram had eaten the holy sacrament, and
after that all gifts were poor.” (Charles Jerdan, M. A. , LL. B.)
Refreshment between the battles
I. HERE IS THE
UNSELFISH AND SUCCESSFUL INTERPOSITION OF A SEPARATED MAN, ON BEHALF OF OTHERS.
II. THE TIME OF A
GREAT SUCCESS IS OFTEN THE SIGNAL FOR A GREAT TEMPTATION.
III. THE PREVENIENT
GRACE OF GOD. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Abraham’s conquest
There are two lessons implied in Abraham’s conquest.
1. One is, that military skill and experience are often easily
vanquished by untaught valour, when that is at once inspired by impulse, guided
by wisdom, and connected with a good cause. The history of earth contains the
record of no battles so glorious as those of Morgarten, Bannockburn, Drumelog,
the taking of the Bastille, and the Three Days of Paris in 1830. On such
occasions, war assumes a grander aspect, is freed from its conventional and
hireling character, unfrocked of its tame uniform, and catches the wild light
of liberty and the free breeze of the mountains.
2. Another lesson we gather from Abraham’s conquest is, that
Christian duty varies at different times and in different circumstances.
Sometimes it is the Christian’s part to stay at home; and at other times to go
far hence among the heathen. Sometimes it is his duty to sit under his family
oak and attend to his family exercises; and at another time, like Abraham, to
choose some post of peril, and do some good deed of daring. (G. Gilfillan.)
Lessons
1. Providence, usually in the deepest distress of His servants,
sends speediest means for their help.
2. God letteth some escape in public calamities, that may seek
succour, for others who are oppressed.
3. God’s escaped ones out of death and dangers, should haste to give
tidings for help to others.
4. It is most proper that the sufferings of the Church in one place
should be declared to the Church elsewhere for its relief.
5. The line of His Church, truth, and religion, God hath kept under
a proper name.
6. It is fit that such as sit at ease in their own habitations
should hear of the Church’s troubles.
7. God can bring heathens eminently to confederate with His Church
and people in affection and religion.
8. Confederates in truth are affected with the evils that betide
their parties, especially in the Church of God (Genesis 14:13). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. Tidings of the Church’s
miseries should make deep impression upon its members.
2. God’s servants are not slow in hearing of the miseries of the
Church and helping it.
3. Brethren’s captivity by oppressors should affect and move to
their rescue.
4. It becomes righteous heads of families to have their servants
instructed in righteousness, and trained to righteous undertakings.
5. Righteous leaders called of God may array and muster forces
against oppressors.
6. Small force of men, and great faith in God, may do mighty things.
7. Leaders affected with the oppression of the Church will haste to
follow the oppressors.
8. Difficulties of march in such cases do not deter believers from
the pursuit (Genesis 14:14). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Abram’s conduct
He did not sit in his tent and say, “He left me for his own
pleasure, and now he must take the consequences of his selfishness: he thought
he could do without me, now let him try.” If Abram had said this there would
have been a good deal of excuse for him. It would have been most human. We at
all events could not have complained with any consistency, for this is exactly
what we said when our friend offended us; but, to be sure, we are Christians,
and Abram was only a Hebrew: and Hebrews are mean, greedy, crafty, villainous!
I find we must beware, though, lest the Jew beat us in noble behaviour! He can
be great! He can forgive vile injuries! How much greater should he be who has
seen Christ slain and has named himself after the name of the Son of God! How
noble his temper, how forgiving his spirit, how hopeful his charity! (J.
Parker, D. D.)
Abraham in the path of daily duty
In all this we have another illustration of the strength of
Abraham’s faith. It kept him equally removed from ascetic seclusion on the one
hand, and worldly conformity on the other. He did not scruple to work with
ungodly allies when he was himself clearly in the path of duty. Lot was a prisoner.
There was no question in his mind that he should do his utmost to deliver his
kinsman; and though he could hope for success in that only by joining himself
for the time with the Canaanitish sheiks, and seeming to be on the side of the
King of Sodom, yet he did not hesitate to take that course and leave the issue
with God. Herein he has left us an example which is not without is
significance; for there are movements, some political and some moral, in our
city and in our land, in which we can hope to succeed only by accepting the
alliance of men with whom in the highest parts of our nature we have no
sympathy whatever; and there are many among us who stand aloof because they do
not wish to be brought into contact with such characters. What is it but a widespread
feeling of this sort which has given the regulation of municipal affairs among
us into the hands of men who have in many cases neither the confidence nor the
respect of the Christian portion of the community? But for Christians to stand
aloof in these circumstances and let things take their course is the merest
cowardice. Say not to me that you are seeking thereby to keep yourselves pure.
Do your duty, and leave the consequences to God. Believe me, He will not let
you suffer from that which you undertake out of a regard to His glory and the
welfare of your fellow men. So, again, there are many enterprises of
benevolence in which the deliverance of our fellow men from the misery of
disease or poverty cannot be accomplished by us, unless we consent to work with
persons of whose characters we cannot in all respects approve. What then? Must
we refuse to sit at a benevolent board because Aner, Eshcol, and Mature are
there also? As well might we decline to lend a hand in the extinguishing of a
destructive fire, because we saw one of the greatest roughs of the
neighbourhood holding the hose! No! no! So long as we are in the world we shall
have to meet the men of the world; we shall have to work with them, too, in
benevolent matters, if at least we would set free the Lots whom tyrannous evils
have taken captive; and they who hold back from the fear of contamination are
signally deficient in that faith for which Abraham was so remarkable. But
notice, again, that this old patriarch would not allow the presence of the
ungodly to keep him from showing honour to God in the person of His priest.
When Melchizedek came forth to meet him, Abraham did not treat him with
coldness, because he happened at the moment to be in company with the King of
Sodom. On the contrary, he showed him special honour, was not ashamed to
receive his benediction, and gave him, without asking anyone’s leave, a tithe
of the spoils. Now there was true courage! Abraham was not ashamed of his
religion, and, when the occasion offered, he was ready to make it known. He did
not hide his flag, but let it flutter openly in the breeze. And what a lesson
is there in all this for us! It is hard enough for many of us to confess Christ
in the midst of a company of His friends, and multitudes are altogether ashamed
of Him in the presence of His enemies. If a stranger happens to be our guest,
and we know that he ridicules religion, we omit family worship for that
evening. If a friend not remarkable for spirituality calls upon us on the
Lord’s day, and the time comes for us to go to the sanctuary, we are afraid to
say anything about it, and we remain at home with him. If, in our business
hours, a brother comes and speaks to us about spiritual things, in a style that
might be as refreshing to us as the bread and wine of Melchizedek were to
Abraham, we see a smile of contempt on the countenance of our worldly customer,
and we plead that we are too much engaged at present to give him any more of
our time. And if one waits upon us in the name of Christ, and asks our pecuniary
help for his cause, we have no tithes to give him, and too frequently consider
him as an intruder. Why is this? Ah, friends! let us be honest and confess it
frankly, it is because we do not really believe that our chief business is with
God, or that our strongest obligations are to Him. But still farther here,
observe how Abraham would not consent to be laid under any debt of any sort
whatever to the King of Sodom. He could take refreshment and a blessing from
the hand of Melchizedek, but he would receive nothing from Bern. Why this
distinction? The only answer we can give is because of the different characters
of the two men. With Melchizedek he was safe; but how did he know that Bera
would not claim from him some return which he could not conscientiously make?
Therefore he would fetter himself with no entanglement. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
To the rescue
In the last century, when absence of trains and existence of bad
roads isolated English towns and villages from each other, and from London, the
separation of friends became a serious matter. A young maiden persuaded her
relatives to allow her to leave the remote western hamlet home and to visit
friends of the family in the metropolis. After a time tidings came that the
maiden had been carried off, and was supposed to be concealed in the hall of a
northern baronet. Distressed at the tidings, and full of love for their sister,
the two brothers considered how her rescue was to be achieved. Ascertaining the
whereabouts of the hall, they decided to explore its buildings in disguise, so
as to learn the precise apartment in which their sister was lodged, and then,
under cover of night, to secure her freedom. A brother in battle:--Timoleon
the Corinthian was a noble pattern of fraternal love. Being in battle with the
Argives, and seeing his brother fall by the wounds he had received, he
instantly leaped over his dead body, and with his shield protected it from
insult and plunder; and though severely wounded in the generous enterprise, he
would not on any account retreat to a place of safety, till he had seen the
corpse carried off the field by his friends.
Return from the slaughter
I.
THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN. Abram returning from the subjugation of the kings,
accompanied with Lot, whom he had rescued, and laden with spoils of war.
1. The aged chieftain, Abram, 83 years of age; hale, vigorous,
victorious. Not always that man’s return from the late enterprises of life is
triumphant.
2. His retainers. His 318 servants (some, perhaps, left behind). How
proud would these be of their leader.
3. Lot. Grateful that he had been rescued from captivity.
4. Other rescued captives. Their joy and thankfulness.
5. The first recorded war ended in the triumph of right.
6. The victory secured by a servant of God with limited resources.
Prophetic of the greater war in which the great Seed of Abraham rescued, from a
more cruel bondage, a greater number, who come off more than conquerors through
Him who loved them.
7. His welcome home. The king of Sodom goes forth to meet him. The
joy of those who have friends and property restored.
II. THE HIGH
PRIEST’S BLESSING.
1. The approbation of the holy, the most valuable of all human
praise. The praise of some is humiliating to the receiver. Woe be unto you when
all men speak well of you. To please God, and hear His “well done,” the best
end to seek.
2. Melchizedek, a priest of God, would approve success less than
character.
3. He was hospitable, and provided refreshment for weary men. A good
man’s obligation to one who, for others, had fought a battle in the right. His
sympathy with the emancipated. His respect for the deliverer.
4. He was faithful; and reminded Abram of the most high God, who
possessed all things. Men, in their successes especially, have often need to be
reminded of this; and that it is God who giveth the victory.
5. Such a reminder may do a thoughtless man good, and can do a good
man no harm. Abram humbly received the reminder.
III. THE DIVISION
OF THE SPOIL. Many would have fought over it, and, if so well able as Abram,
would have kept all they could.
1. He gave one-tenth of all to God. Did homage thus to Divine claims
and principles in the person of Melchizedek.
2. Declined to take anything as his own share. Would not have it
ever said that any man had made him rich. Though none could have said it
justly.
3. Would not impose his rule upon others. Stipulated for the right
of other men. Had the power to dictate, but left them to their own free choice.
Would not have them coerced by his example, but claimed a portion for them.
LEARN--
I. To love peace,
and only enter upon righteous conflicts.
II. So to fight
life’s battle as to return victorious and with honest satisfaction.
III. Cheerfully to
recognize the successes of others.
IV. To be more
anxious about the right and true than about the profit.
V. To rejoice in the Captain of our
salvation, who has conquered for us, and who has rescued us from present
captivity and future death. (J. C. Gray.)
Lessons
1. Conquerors usually want
not observance and congratulations from the world.
2. The powers of the earth are sometimes forced to acknowledge the
prowess of God’s saints.
3. Humanity persuades men to the acknowledgment of God to any, whom
God makes helpful to them.
4. The killing of the slayer, and breaking the yoke of the oppressor
is cause of congratulation to the oppressed.
5. Nature will not be slow to meet and congratulate its deliverers.
6. Deliverance may make men go far to acknowledge God’s servants,
who before would scarce vouchsafe to go out of doors for them. (G. Hughes,
B. D.)
Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine
The narrative of Melchizedek
I.
CONSIDER
THE HISTORICAL FACTS OF THIS NARRATIVE.
1. Melchizedek makes his appearance at the close of the first war
recorded in the annals of the human race. Abraham was on his journey home from
the rescue of Lot, and had reached a place called the King’s Dale, when his
meeting with the priest took place.
2. Who was Melchizedek? There is an old tradition of the Jews to the
effect that he was Shem, the son of Noah, Shem being his personal name, Melchizedek
his official designation. This, however, is improbable, since
3. What was the secret of his peculiar greatness? His names suggest
an explanation. He must have been eminently righteous to have earned such
titles as “King of Righteousness” and “King of Peace.” He stood alone in his
office, as priest of the Most High God. He was known by undeniable tokens as
the man whom God had consecrated to be His priest.
II. CONSIDER THE
SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS NARRATIVE OF MELCHIZEDEK.
1. He was a symbol of the mystery connected with the Saviour’s
person.
2. He shadowed forth important truths in relation to Christ as our
Priest. His priesthood was distinguished for its antiquity, its catholicity,
its independence.
3. Melchizedek was the prefiguration of Christ as the King of His
people.
4. The story seems to be a typical picture of Christ exercising His
ministry of benediction. (C. Stafford, D. D.)
Abram and Melchizedek
The priesthood of Melchizedek was not based upon his birth, for he
was not in any priestly line. It was not based upon the performance of any
written laws of sacrifice; we know nothing of his burnt offerings. But higher
than any priest by birth, he was a priest of the Most High God, because of his
character, his righteousness. It was a spiritual, rather than a mere legal
service which he rendered. His office work and his character were a unit in
their inspiring motive and in their results. “True priesthood is life, and true
life is priesthood.” There is something almost weird in this meeting of Abram
and Melchizedek. It was at the close of the first recorded war in history, in
which the patriarch had become a hero. For the first time in human affairs this
was the celebration of a victory. It had been the first conflict between the
Church and the world. “Melchizedek is the setting sun of the primitive
revelation which sheds its last rays on the patriarchs, from whom the true
light of the world is to arise. The sun sets, that when the preparatory time of
Israel have passed away, it may rise again in Jesus Christ the antitype.” No
sooner had he appeared and spoken, than he disappeared again into obscurity and
silence. No priest had preceded him; and lie left no successor,--a lonely
example of the eternal glory, greater than Abram whom he blessed. Such being
the men and their meeting, we observe two of the practical lessons.
I. THE RIGHTEOUS
MAN’S NOBILITY. Melchizedek was the “king of righteousness” before he was king
of Salem; and this king of righteousness blessed righteous Abram. The patriarch
was called the Friend of God, and history knows him as the “father of the
faithful.” But his trust in God was more than a profession; it was his life.
His daily conduct was the tree bearing the fruit of a perfect faith; not that
he was perfect, but he strove to become such. Every deed was an act of his
living faith. It was no strange event when the king of Sodom prostrated himself
at Abram’s feet. And if all of God’s children were like Abram, the world would
pay still greater honour to the Church of the living God. The saints are the
world’s nobility.
II. THE RIGHTEOUS
MAN’S BLESSING. No benediction was too great for Abram, as the patriarch bowed
before “the priest of the Most High God,” and received through the sacred lips
the blessings from “the possessor of heaven and earth.” (D. O. Mears.)
The trite priest for mankind
I. THE TRUE
PRIEST IS DIVINELY APPOINTED.
1. Called of God.
2. Separated from the rest of mankind.
II. THE TRUE
PRIEST IS ONE WITH THE RACE HE REPRESENTS.
1. The dignity of human nature.
2. The destiny of human nature.
III. THE TRUE
PRIEST HAS THE POWER TO BLESS.
1. To pronounce blessings on men.
2. To bless God on their behalf.
3. To declare God’s benefits towards men.
IV. THE TRUE
PRIEST IS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN.
1. He receives gifts from God for men.
2. He receives gifts from men for God. (T. H. Leale.)
Melchizedek a type of Christ
I. HE WAS A ROYAL
PRIEST.
II. HIS GENEALOGY
IS MYSTERIOUS.
III. HE WAS
PERPETUALLY A PRIEST.
IV. HE WAS AN
UNIVERSAL PRIEST.
V. HE WAS A
PRIEST OF THE HIGHEST TYPE. As compared with the priesthood of Aaron, that of
Melchizedek was superior--
1. In time;
2. In dignity;
3. In duration.
VI. HIS PRIESTHOOD
HAS THE HIGHEST CONFIRMATION. Divine oath. (T. H.Leale.)
Melchizedek
I. MELCHIZEDEK
WAS A PRIEST.
II. THIS
PRIESTHOOD CAME OF GOD AND WAS RATIFIED BY AN OATH.
III. THIS
PRIESTHOOD WAS ALSO CATHOLIC.
IV. THIS
PRIESTHOOD WAS SUPERIOR TO ALL HUMAN ORDERS OF PRIESTS.
V. THIS
PRIESTHOOD PARTOOK OF THE MYSTERY OF ETERNITY.
VI. THIS PRIESTHOOD
WAS ROYAL.
VII. THIS
PRIESTHOOD RECEIVES TITHES OF ALL. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Jesus meeting His warriors
Let us consider Abraham as the type and picture of all the
faithful.
I. We mention,
then, what you must all know right well by experience--you who are God’s
people--THAT THE BELIEVER IS OFTEN ENGAGED IN WARFARE.
1. This warfare will be both within and without--within with the
innumerable natural corruptions which remain, with the temptations of Satan,
with the suggestions of his own wicked heart; and without, he will frequently
be engaged in warfare, wrestling “not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, etc.” The peculiar case of Abram leads me to
remark that sometimes the believer will be engaged in warfare, not so much on
his own account as on the account of erring brethren, who, having gone into ill
company, are by and by carried away captive.
2. Observe that this war is one against powerful odds. The four
kings mentioned in this chapter were all great sovereigns.
3. Carefully notice, that as it is a battle of fearful odds, it is
one which is carried on in faith. Abram did not venture to this fight with
confidence in his own strength, or reliance upon his own bow, but he went in
the name of the Lord of Hosts. Faith was Abram’s continual comfort. The
Christian is to carry on his warfare in faith. You will be vanquished, indeed,
if you attempt it by any other method.
4. In this great battle, carried on by faith, Abram had a right
given him from God, and the promise of God’s presence virtually in that right.
What business had Chedorlaomer to come unto Canaan? Had not Jehovah said to
Abram, “All this land will I give unto thee?” Therefore he and his confederate
monarchs were neither more nor less than intruders. It is true they would have
laughed at the very idea of Abram’s claiming the whole land of Canaan, but that
claim was nevertheless valid in the court of heaven, and the patriarch by right
divine was heir of all the land. Christian, you are, by virtue of a covenant
made with you to drive out every sin, as an intruder.
5. Yet more, the Christian is engaged in a conflict in which he
walks by faith and leans upon God; but yet it is a conflict in which he uses
all means, calls in all lawful assistance, and exerts himself with all vigour
and speed.
6. Abram marching on thus with activity, and using discretion, by
attacking his enemies at night rather than by day, did not cease until he had
gained a complete victory over them.
II. While engaged
in such earnest spiritual contention, the believer may expect to SEE HIS LORD.
When Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, were fighting Christ’s battles in the
fiery furnace, then the Son of Man appeared unto them. He understands that
warriors require strengthening meat, and that especially when they are under
stern conflict they need extraordinary comforts that their souls may be stayed
and refreshed.
1. Why does Jesus Christ, as set forth here under the type of
Melchizedek, appear unto His children in times of conflict?
2. In what character did He meet Abram? As one possessed of a royal
priesthood.
3. What did He do for him? Brought him bread and wine. Christ’s
flesh and blood our spiritual sustenance.
4. What Melchizedek said to Abram.
III. When a
wrestling believer is favoured with a sight of the great Melchizedek,
voluntarily and yet necessarily he makes a NEW DEDICATION of himself to God.
You see Abram does not appear to delay a moment, but he gives to Melchizedek a
tithe of all, by which he seemed to say, “I own the authority of my superior
liege lord, to all that I am, and all that I have.” (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Melchizedek and his typical character
Persons who study the phenomena or aspects of the heavens inform
us, that sometimes a great comet or a beautiful meteor has appeared most
unexpectedly in the skies. Some of these heavenly visitants engage only the
notice of astronomers: but a few are so exceedingly grand and lovely, that they
attract every eye. Now these lights in the heavens suddenly arise, shine awhile
in glory, and then disappear forever. But some are so remarkable, and so
amazingly beautiful, that they live in the memory as “a joy forever.” Now such
appears to me to be the meteoric or comet-like vision of Melchizedek in the
bright sky of the ancient Church, as he starts before our view in the sacred
writings. Melchizedek glances suddenly on the sight here, as a brilliant meteor
or a glorious comet. We gaze on the starry light shining so brightly in the
firmament of the early Church; but, like its brother in the heavens, as we gaze
in admiration it is gone!
I. THE HISTORY OF
MELCHIZEDEK.
1. War was the occasion of introducing this royal priest, in its
successful issues in the deliverance of Lot.
2. But who was Melchizedek? The question has been agitated often,
and very strangely answered, though I believe its true solution can clearly be
found in the holy writings. The best opinion is, that Melchizedek is a real
historic personage; that his name was not found in the regular lists of the
priesthood; that as king as well as priest, he shadowed the glorious offices of
Christ; and the Lord set him forth in Scripture as the living type and image of
our blessed Redeemer, as our great and only High Priest, our Divine King and
Saviour. Melchizedek was a ray of heavenly light in the early morning of the
Church, which led the intelligent eye to the sun dawn and glory of the Sun of
Righteousness. He was as the finger post or pillar, with the broad arrow, on
the king’s high road; the royal statue in the court, which pointed to the heavenly
King on His throne. As a prince on earth, he shone in the light also of a
priest divine, directing faith in prophetic grandeur to the glory of the Great
Prince of heaven, descending on earth to feed and bless His people, conquerors
through His might, as our High Priest at the sacramental banquet of His love,
signifying His dying work and mediation on the Cross, as our true sacrifice,
and typical of His imperishable glory and majesty in the heavens, where Christ
ever liveth to intercede for and satisfy, and bless us forever.
II. CONSIDER HOW
MELCHIZEDEK WAS A LIVING TYPE OF OUR LORD IN HIS OFFICES.
1. He typified Christ in His illustrious person. His origin and end
are veiled in mystery for our instruction in the Sacred Writings, that our
curiosity may be checked where God’s wisdom gives all the light we need. As he
was “king of Salem,” signifying peace, and “king of righteousness,” as his
compound Hebrew name, Melchizedek, means, he was a noble figure of Christ, the
true “Prince of Peace,” who brought peace by the blood of His cross between God
and man, and brought in everlasting righteousness, as the joyful fruit of His
passion, sufferings, and blessed mediation.
2. He typified Christ, especially in His sacerdotal character.
Melchizedek was a priest as well as a king: a royal priest, and not of
Abraham’s or Aaron’s line. In this he especially resembled the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ is our one and only royal High Priest: His office is
unchangeable; He never can die; He ever liveth to intercede for us in the
heavens; and He hath His true type, therefore, not in Aaron, but in
Melchizedek, as both King and Priest. Besides this, Melchizedek blessed Abram;
and the latter gave him tithes of all, as a sign of his inferiority, and of the
Jewish priesthood; as the apostle says, “Levi paid tithes to the king of Salem
in the loins of Abraham.” The sum or heads of this most able argument of St.
Paul must be clear to any reflecting mind, that Christ was constituted by the
Father a royal Priest, whose Divine office was singular; it had its typical
origin not in Levi, but in Melchizedek; that Christ has no successor in His
Divine work; and that He is our only Intercessor before God above.
III. TWO PRACTICAL
CONSIDERATIONS MUST NOW CONCLUDE THIS SUBJECT.
1. Consider how important in its bearings is the great truth, that
Christ Jesus the Lord is our Royal High Priest in God’s presence for us. We had
imperative need of such a Redeemer on earth, and such a Mediator in heaven. In
His nature God and man are united. He only reconciles man to God; Christ only
joins heaven and earth. He is the world’s great peace offering; He is the King
of righteousness and peace for His beloved people.
2. Consider whether your soul has ever been awakened to see the
spiritual glory of Christ, and the inestimable value of His love. A moral film
must be removed from the eye of the soul to see spiritual things, and the full
glory of Christ. Live not in a dreamy state as professing Christians, but awake
and arise to your true position as redeemed by Christ, to glorify Him both in
body and soul. (J. G. Augley, M. A.)
Melchizedek
Melchizedek is mentioned by three inspired writers, Moses, David,
and Paul. The places where he is spoken of are Genesis 14:18-20; Psalms 110:1-7, and Hebrews 5:1-14; Hebrews 6:1-20; Hebrews 7:1-28. The first notice is
purely historic; the second purely prophetic; the third explains and shows the
fulfilment of the former two in the person of Christ.
1. The first resemblance is found in the names or titles of the
mysterious ancient. He is called Melchizedek, which means King of
Righteousness. He is said to have been the king of Salem, that is King of
Peace. It matters not where this Salem was. The import is the same. Now Jesus
Christ is the Lord our righteousness; He is the righteousness of God for our
complete justification; He was made sin for us that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him; He is also our Peace; yea, He is the Prince of
Peace; He came and preached peace to them that are afar off. He was the great
Sin bearer. He is the great Peacemaker. The peace He gives passes all
understanding.
2. Then Melchizedek was a man. It is not necessary to disprove or
even to state the wild and foolish opinions which have been sent forth
respecting this person. He was a man. He was taken from among men. So was Jesus
Christ a man, truly and properly a man. He is often so called by inspired men,
by Himself, by His Father. He must needs be a man, that He might fully
sympathize with His people, and that He might have somewhat to offer.
3. But Melchizedek was not only a man; he was also a great man. He
was the priest of the Most High God. Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. The
proofs are two:
4. Moreover, Melchizedek was not of the tribe of Levi, nor of the
order of Aaron. No Jew ever claimed that Melchizedek was a Levite, or learned
or derived anything from Aaron. Nor was Jesus Christ of the order of Aaron, nor
of the tribe of Levi.
5. Nor is this all. For Melchizedek was the first and the last of
his order. Aaron had no predecessor, but he had many successors. But
Melchizedek had neither predecessor nor successor. His order was wholly
independent of all others. It was just so with Christ Jesus. Christ has an
unchangeable, an intransmissable priesthood. His priesthood is according to the
power of an endless life. Thus we have an explanation of those phrases used of
Melchizedek: “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life.” The law of the Levitical priesthood was
minute and exact as to both the parents. A defect here was fatal. But
Melchizedek’s parents are not named in the genealogical tables of the Levites.
Neither did they contain the names of any of Christ’s ancestors. The priests of
the order of Aaron could not act before a certain age, nor were they to
officiate after a certain age--all which must be ascertained by the tables of
lineage. But these tables tell us not (neither do any records) when Melchizedek
began or closed his sacred functions. Neither do they mention the name, or
birth, or time of Christ’s entering on His Priesthood. Thus was Christ’s
Priesthood set forth to us as personal and perpetual--truly a glorious
Priesthood. In it let us trust. In it let us exult forever. (W. S. Plumer,
D. D.)
The patriarch and the priest king
I. THE PRIEST
KING.
1. The person himself.
2. His position.
3. Melchizedek’s prophetic blessing.
II. THE PATRIARCH.
1. Abram recognizes in Melchizedek a person worthy of special
respect and honour.
2. Note the religious spirit in which Abram viewed his success.
CONCLUSION: From Abram’s conduct we may learn--
1. Humility.
2. Thankfulness.
3. Stedfastness of religious purpose. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Melchizedek
The sacred historian having here met with what I may call a lily
among thorns, stops, as it were, to describe it. Let us stop with him, and
observe the description.
1. He was doubtless a very holy man; and if a Canaanite by descent,
it furnishes a proof among many others, that the curse on Canaan did not shut
the door of faith upon his individual descendants. There never was an age or
country in which he that feared God, and worked righteousness, was not accepted.
2. He was a personage in whom was united the kingly and priestly
offices, and as such was a type of the Messiah and greater than Abram himself.
This singular dignity conferred upon a descendant of Canaan shows that God
delights, on various occasions, to put more abundant honour upon the part that
lacketh.
3. He was what he was, considered as a priest, not by inheritance,
but by an immediate Divine constitution. (A. Fuller.)
Melchizedek
Behold Melchizedek! In wise purpose his descent is hid far beyond
our sight. So, too, clouds and darkness mantle the first rise of Jesus. He is,
by eternal generation, the co-eternal Son of the co-eternal Father. But who can
grasp such mystery? He who begets precedes not the begotten. He who is begotten
is not second to the parent cause. This truth is a boundless ocean. Let us
meekly stand on the shore and marvel. We read, and are assured, that Jesus, by
eternal birth, is God of God, and very God of very God. But while we cannot
dive into the depths, we bathe our souls in the refreshment of the surface. For
hence it follows, that He is sufficient to deal with God, and to satisfy God,
and thus to save His people to the uttermost. We see not Melchizedek’s cradle.
But we distinctly see him man on earth. Eyewitnesses, who heard Jesus and
handled Him, give testimony, that He, too, has tabernacled in our clay, and
thus was qualified to shed His life blood as our ransom. In Melchizedek we find
neither first nor latest hours. No search can tell when he began or ceased to
be. Here is Jesus. His age is one everlasting day. From eternity past to
eternity to come, His being rolls in one unbroken stream. Before time was, His
name is, “I am that I am.” When time shall have run its course, His name is
still, “I am that I am.” Melchizedek. How mighty is this name? He that utters
it, says, King of Righteousness. Who can claim that title, in its full purport,
but Jesus: what is His person, what His work, but the glory of righteousness?
Since Adam fell, earth has seen no righteousness apart from Him. But His
kingdom is first righteousness, then peace (Romans 14:17). There is a throne in it
righteously erected to dispense righteousness. All the
statutes--decrees--ordinances--every precept--every reward--every penalty--is a
sunbeam of righteousness. Eachsubject is bright in royal robes of purity--each
wears a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). Each delights in
righteousness, as his newborn nature. Melchizedek was a local monarch. His city
was graced with the name of Salem, which is Peace. The war, which stalked
through the land, troubled not these tranquil citizens. Here again we have the
sweet emblem of Jesus’ blissful reign. His kingdom is one atmosphere of
peace--one haven of unruffled calm. Heaven is at peace with the inhabitants.
Sin had rebelled. It had aroused most holy wrath. It had armed each attribute
of God with anger. It had unsheathed the sword of vengeance. It had pointed the
arrows of destruction against our world of transgression. But Jesus cleanses
His flock from every stain of evil. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world.” Melchizedek is called to the most hallowed functions. He
is the consecrated priest of the Most High God. As king, he sat above men. As
priest, he stands before God. This holy office exhibits Jesus. He spurns no
office which can serve the Church. The entrance of sin calls for expiation. No
sinner can approach a sin-hating God without a sin-removing plea. This
expiation can only be by the death of an appeasing victim The victim can only
die by a sacrificing hand. Hence we need, a priest to celebrate the
blood-stained rite. And all which is needed we have in Jesus. Cry out and
shout, O happy believer, your “Christ is All.” An altar is upraised. The altar
is Christ. No other can suffice. He alone can bear the victim, which bears His
people’s sins. A lamb is led forth. The lamb is Christ. None other has blood of
merit co-equal with man’s guilt. Jesus, therefore, God in essence, Man in
person, extends Himself upon the accursed tree. But who is the priest who dares
approach a superhuman altar? Who has a hand to touch a victim God? The very
sight would shiver man into annihilation. Therefore Jesus is the priest. The
incense of His intercession ever rises, Father, bless them; and they are
blessed. Father, smile on them; and it is light around. With extended hand He
takes their very offering of prayer, and praise, and service. He perfumes all
with the rich fragrance of His merits. He makes all worthy in His own
worthiness, and thus our nothingness gains great reward. Melchizedek meets
Abraham with bread and wine. The weary warrior is way-worn and faint. Refreshment
is provided. Tile Lord is very tender of His people’s need. Awful is the curse
on the Ammonites and the Moabites, because they met not Israel with bread and
water in the way, when they came forth out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 23:4). Here again, we see our
great High Priest. With God-like bounty He presents every supply which wasted
strength, and sinking spirit, and failing heart require. (Dean Law.)
Another collection
Thus exclaimed a member of the parish the other day, “How often
they come! It is give, give, all the time!” The same person might have added,
“Another bill! It is pay, pay the grocer and the baker, and the coalman, all
the time!” Isn’t it curious that people recognize the duty of paying a debt to
their fellow men so much more readily than they do paying a debt to God! These
collections in church--what are they if they are not, in a most important
sense, the payment of debts? We are only stewards of the Lord’s bounty. Nothing
we have is really our own. We are just using it for a time for Him. We have
consecrated everything to Him, and we should regard these appeals in church for
money as opportunities to pay back something we owe.
I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I
have made Abram rich
The believer’s superiority to the world
This superiority to the world may be manifested in various ways--as
in the case of Abram.
I. BY REFUSING TO
INSIST UPON LAWFUL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES.
1. When it brings them into dangerous association with the world.
2. When they might appear to countenance sin.
II. BY REFUSING TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORLD AS THE SOURCE OF TRUE GREATNESS. Two thoughts supported
Abram in this spirit of noble independence.
1. He was chosen of God.
2. He was heir to the promises.
III. BY SHOWING
THAT HE STANDS ON A DIFFERENT FOOTING AND HAS BETTER HOPES THAN THE CHILDREN OF
THIS WORLD. Ready to give up his own rights, he will not prevent others from
asserting theirs. He allows his young men to take their subsidence, and the
allies their portion. But he himself stands upon a higher plane, and has a
wider horizon. He can afford to think lightly of every earthly good. So the
believer, though in the world, is not of it. (T. H. Leale.)
A noble refusal
I. Abraham wished
TO AVOID PLACING HIMSELF UNDER GREAT OBLIGATION TO A WORLDLY MAN.
II. Abraham
doubtless wished TO AVOID THE APPEARANCE OF TOO INTIMATE A FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE
WHO WAS AN UNRIGHTEOUS MAN.
III. Abraham
probably wished TO SHOW THAT THE SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH CAN DO GOOD WITHOUT
HOPE OF WORLDLY REWARD.
IV. Abraham showed
by his refusal, THAT IT IS NOT A DESIRABLE THING TO GAIN BY THE MISFORTUNES OF
OTHERS.
V. It may be that
Abraham wished TO SHOW THAT GOD AND A SPIRIT OF CONTENTEDNESS WERE A GOOD MAN’S
TRUE RICHES. (F. Hastings.)
Abraham’s answer to the king of Sodom
Abram knew full well that the man who affected generosity in relinquishing
what was not his own, would go on to boast of it, and to reflect on him as
though he shone in borrowed plumes. No, says the patriarch, “I will not take,
from a thread even to a shoe lachet, that which is thine, save that which the
young men have eaten, and the portion of Aner, Eschol, and Mature,” his allies.
In this answer of Abram we may observe, besides the above, several particulars.
1. The character under which he bad sworn to God: “Jehovah, the Most
High God, the possessor of heaven and earth.” The first of these names was that
by which God was made known to Abram, and still more to his posterity. The last
was that which had been just given to him by Melchizedek, and which appears to
have made a strong impression on Abram’s mind. By uniting them together, he in
a manner acknowledged Melchizedek’s God to be his God; and while reproving the
king of Sodom, expressed his love to him as to a brother.
2. His having decided the matter before the king of Sodom met him,
as it seems he had, implies something highly dishonourable in the character of
that prince. He must have been well known to Abram as a vain, boasting,
unprincipled man, or he would not have resolved in so solemn a manner to
preserve himself clear from the very shadow of an obligation to him. And
considering the polite and respectful manner in which it was common for this
patriarch to conduct himself towards his neighbours, there must have been
something highly offensive in this case to draw from him so cutting and
dismaying an intimation. It is not unlikely that he had thrown out some
malignant insinuations against Lot, and his old wealthy uncle, on the score of
their religion. If so, Abram would feel happy in an opportunity of doing good
against evil, and thus of heaping coals of fire upon his head. The reason why
he would not be under the shadow of an obligation, or anything which may be
construed an obligation to him, was not so much a regard to his own honour, but
the honour of Him in whose name he had sworn. Abram’s God has blessed him, and
promised to bless him more, and make him a blessing. Let it not be said by his
enemies, that with all his blessedness, it is of our substance that he is what
he is. No, Abram can trust in “the possessor of heaven and earth” to provide
for him, without being beholden to the king of Sodom.
3. His excepting the portion of the young men who were in league
with him, shows a just sense of propriety. In giving up our own right, we are
not at liberty to give away that which pertains to others connected with us.
Upon the whole, this singular undertaking would raise Abram much in the
estimation of the Canaanites, and might possibly procure a little more respect
to Lot. It had been better in the latter, however, if he had taken this
opportunity to have changed his dwelling place. (A. Fuller.)
Lessons
1. Grace denieth not civil
returns to ingenuous carriages of men.
2. It beseems the children of grace to bind themselves by oath from
evil.
3. Such oaths must be made to the true God only. It is part of His
worship Isaiah 65:15).
4. The being, power, height, and sufficiency of God, are enough to
take of His servants from all engagements to men (verse 22).
5. God’s sanctified ones having enough in and from God, abhor to
take from worldly men to His dishonour.
6. God’s servants undertake no war for spoil but righteousness to
redeem the oppressed.
7. Neither thread nor shoe latchet advantage will righteous souls
take from the wicked upon their successes.
8. It is the believing magnanimity of the heirs of promise, not to
be enriched by the world, though by right they may claim it (verse 23).
9. Vows to God must not imply unjust things to men.
10. Liberality of some eminent saints must not prejudice the right of
other men to give that away (verse 24). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Disinterestedness
Canada has become a kingdom in fifty years. Its large cities were
then little hamlets, and its mighty forests then covered its virgin soil. Near
its lakes a gallant soldier had retired and settled; and around him had
gathered a few brave hunters. They were surrounded by Indian tribes, who,
partly from respect and awe, refrained from attacking this happy settlement.
One of the white men, eager to find a wider field, left the hamlet, and took
his family to the hunting ground and village of one of these tribes. Another
tribe sacked the Indian village, carried off the leading chief, his wives and
flocks; and at the same time took away the white man’s family and property.
When tidings reached the gallant head of the white settlement, he armed his
servants, pursued after the retreating Indians, surprised them in their sleep,
and brought back the captured white and red men. On arriving at the Indian wigwams
again, the grateful Indian chief urged his deliverer to take the rescued
cattle. The white leader, animated by those noble motives which blossom so
sweetly where Divine grace reigns, and anxious to show the “red man” what
Christianity does for the white man, refused to take one hoof or horse: “Give
only to those who volunteered to join me in the rescue; as for myself and
friends, we are content with your deliverance and safe return home.” (W.
Adamson.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》