A Solemn Covenant (Genesis 15)

The Lord God Most High promised to Abram that he and his descendants would be blessed. In Genesis 15, Abram appeals to the Lord explaining that he remains childless and the only heir in his household is his servant, Eliezer of Damascus. The Lord reassures Abram that this man will not be the heir, but a son that will come from Abram’s own body, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars…so shall your offspring be” (v. 5).

The Lord instructed him to bring a sacrifice, and Abram prepared it. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep. A dreadful darkness came over him, and the Lord explained to him what would happen in the next four generations.

Abram’s descendants would be strangers in a country and enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. Afterwards, the Lord would punish the nation they served in as slaves, and they would come out of the land with great possessions. Abram would be at peace and die at an old age. At the end of the 4^th generation, the descendants would return to the land of Canaan.

When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces of Abram’s sacrifice. It was on that day that the Lord made a covenant with Abram,

“To your descendants I give this land [of Canaan], from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." (v. 20)

It was stated that Abram believed what the Lord promised him, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness (v. 6). Though God was trying to reassure Abram, it would take many years before Abram understood and saw the fruition of this promise.

A Blessed Escape

I am finding that the only way to keep track of all these names is to write them down. Thus, my list:

In Genesis, chapter 14, battles are taking place in the Valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea, or Dead Sea).

The 4 kings are:

1. Amraphel (of Shinar)
2. Arioch (of Ellasar)
3. Kedorlaomer (of Elam)
4. Tidal (of Goiim)

They waged war against 5 kings:

1. Bera (of Sodom)
2. Birsha (of Gomorrah)
3. Shinab (of Admah)
4. Shemeber (of Zeboiim), and
5. Zoar (of Bela)

In the 14^th year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites, the Zuzites, the Emites, and the Horites. Then they turned back to Kadesh and conquered all the land of the Amalekites and Amorites, who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

This resulted in the 5 kings marching out and drawing battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against the 4 kings.

The valley was full of tar pits, so when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to flee, some of the men fell into the tar pits, while some escaped. The 4 kings seized all the goods and food belonging to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. They also captured Abram’s nephew, Lot, who had been living in Sodom.

One man who escaped made it to Abram and reported what had happened. Abram called the 318 men who had been born in his home (belonging to his household), and they went to find and rescue Lot. They defeated the 4 kings and returned to the Valley of Shaveh (the King’s Valley). The king of Sodom met Abram there. Also, a king named Melchizedek, king of Salem.

The king of Salem was a priest and brought bread and wine to Abram for nourishment. He also blessed him, saying:

Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. (Genesis 14: 19-20) 

The king of Sodom told Abram to give him the captured people and, in return, Abram would be able to keep the captured goods for himself. Abram declined taking anything from the king of Sodom (since he was declaring his dependence and blessing from the Lord, God Most High). Abram did not want this king to be able to declare, “I made Abram rich”. He only accepted what his men had already eaten, and would allow for the men who went with him (Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre) to receive their share.

Why is this detailed account so important?

After reading this, I decided that Abram’s rescue of Lot is in one way symbolic of the sacrifice and effort required to save any person from evil. In modern language, this could also refer to any controlling power, substance, or situation. It was Abram, 3 men, and 318 other trained men from his household, who went out to find Lot and defeat the notorious “5 kings”.

Likewise, Abram’s encounter with the king and priest Melchizedek is symbolic of another king and priest named in the New Testament. In Hebrews, chapter 7, Melchizedek is mentioned again, as the “king of righteousness”, the “king of Salem”, and the “king of peace”. He is a person referred to in the Bible without a father or mother, without a genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God [Jesus], a priest forever (Hebrews 7:1-3). The symbols of offering bread and wine to Abram are significant since these are the elements that Christians are told to “take in remembrance of Him” during communion.

Additional notes from online commentaries can be found at biblos.com. I liked Matthew Henry’s at: http://bible.cc/genesis/14-18.htm.

Traveling Mercies

I am finding out there is too much information in the Old Testament for a daily (or weekly) blog. Therefore, here is a list to briefly highlight the "family drama" in Genesis, chapters 12-13!

1. The Lord God tells Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father's household and go to the land God would show him.
2. Abram sets out with his wife (Sarai) and his nephew (Lot). They leave from the land of Haran, with all the possessions they have accumulated and the people they have acquired (so far).
3. They arrive in Canaan, and the Lord appears and promises, "To your offspring I will give this land". Abram builds an altar there, in Shechem, and also later in the land between Bethel and Ai.
4. Due to a severe famine, they travel on to Egypt, where Abram fears for the safety of himself and Sarai. They pretend that Sarai was his sister, not his wife.
5. Pharaoh's officials believe Sarai is beautiful and report this to Pharaoh. He lets them in the palace and lavishes gifts and praise on them, for Sarai's sake.
6. The Lord inflicts diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai.
7. Pharaoh questions Abram about this sudden curse. He is furious with Abram for misleading him into thinking he could take Sarai into the palace to be his own wife. He orders his men to send Abram away, with his wife Sarai, and all that he has.
8. Abram, Sarai, and Lot head for the Negev, with all the people, animals and possessions they have acquired.
9. The land will not support them all in one place and the different herdsmen begin complaining and fighting.
10. Abram doesn't want hostility between himself and Lot since they are "brothers" (relatives...since Lot was actually his nephew). He instructs Lot to choose which direction of land he would prefer.
11. Lot chooses the land to the east, near Sodom. It would turn out that the men there were very wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord.
12. After Lot leaves for the east, the Lord reminds Abram that one day all the land in every direction will belong to Abram and his offspring. Abram moves his tents and goes to live near the trees of Mamre at Hebron. He builds an altar to the Lord there.

In the New Testament, references are made to the significance of Abraham's faith in God at that time in history. His wife Sarai was barren, but (like Noah before) Abram believed God, "and He credited it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). In the chapters that follow, we will read of Abram and Sarai's doubts, their efforts to bring this promise to fruition in their own timing, and the mercy God would eventually show to them and Hagar.