Don't Look Back--Talk to God

Well, today has been a typical Monday. I was going to take a break from Genesis tonight, but knowing that the next couple of chapters were on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, it just seemed to be “apropos” :]

(Genesis 18-19)

The Lord appeared to Abraham one day while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Three visitors came (angels), and Abraham hurried to meet them and bowed before them, ready to assist them. He offered to bring water for them to wash their feet, and offered refreshment for them while they rested. When they were ready to leave, the Lord decided to let Abraham know about the grievous state of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Lord said,

The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. (18:22)

Then Abraham stood before the Lord and pled for the salvation of these cities. This is the first record of a person praying for the sparing of another person in the Old Testament. Abraham asked,

Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city?...Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? (18: 23-33)

Abraham continued to be so bold as to beg for 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally 10 people. The Lord agreed, “For the sake of 10 [righteous people], I will not destroy it” (18:32).

When the two appointed angels arrived at the gateway of the city, Lot happened to be there. When he saw them, he offered for them to stay in his house, where they could clean up, eat, and rest from their journey. Lot feared for their safety and sought to protect them from the perverted men in the city square. Soon, men of all ages surrounded the house and called for Lot to bring the men outside. Lot went outside to make them go away. He remembered his two virgin daughters inside and offered them to the men. They refused and tried to break down the door. The men inside (the angels) reached out and pulled Lot back inside the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men outside with blindness so they couldn’t find the door.

The two angels instructed Lot to leave the city with any others who belonged to him, because they were sent by the Lord to destroy this wicked place. So Lot went to speak with his future sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. They thought he was joking, so they did not leave. At dawn, Lot hurriedly left with his wife and two daughters. The Lord was merciful to them.

One of the angels said to them,

Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away! (19:17)

Lot pled with them to let them go as far as Zoar, a smaller town nearby, instead of the mountains. Then the Lord rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah; but, before it was all over, Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt (19:26).

God remembered Abraham’s appeal for the safety of the righteous. His pleading with the Lord is similar to a "prayer of faith", and that is why his nephew Lot was spared.

In the New Testament, James (a brother of Jesus) explained the importance of praying by faith. Such a prayer can make a sick person well, bring physical and emotional healing, and cover a multitude of sins:

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring them back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the way of error will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5: 13-20)

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.