Genesis · chapter 14 of 50
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Genesis 14 tells how a coalition of four kings defeats the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and carries off Lot. Abram gathers 318 men of his household, pursues them and rescues Lot and everything taken. On his return, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blesses him, and Abram gives him a tenth, but refuses to keep any spoils from the king of Sodom.
Genesis 14 is the first war account in the Bible and the only one in which Abram acts as a warrior. After parting from Lot in chapter 13, here Abram shows his family loyalty by rescuing him. The chapter also introduces Melchizedek, a mysterious figure whom the rest of the Bible takes up as a picture of Christ's priesthood.
Four kings of the east, led by Chedorlaomer of Elam, subdue the kings of the cities of the valley for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year those kings rebel. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies attack, defeat several peoples and overcome the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, who flee and fall into the bitumen pits. The victors take all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and carry off Lot, Abram's nephew, who was living in Sodom.
A fugitive tells Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre. When he hears that his kinsman has been taken captive, he arms 318 men born in his house and pursues the kings as far as Dan. He divides his men, attacks them by night, pursues them to Hobah, north of Damascus, and recovers all the goods, Lot and his goods, and also the women and the people.
On his return, the king of Sodom goes out to meet him. Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, brings out bread and wine, blesses Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, and blesses God for delivering the enemies. Abram gives him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom offers him the goods, but Abram swears to the Lord, God Most High, that he will take nothing, so that no one can say he made Abram rich; he asks only that his young men be paid for what they ate and that his allies take their share.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Abram hears that his kinsman Lot has been taken captive and arms 318 men of his household to pursue them. Even after the separation of the previous chapter, Abram does not abandon Lot: family is worth rescuing.
Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, comes out with bread and wine. He appears suddenly and without genealogy, and that mysterious introduction is why the Bible later uses him as a picture of a superior priesthood.
Melchizedek blesses Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, and praises God for delivering the enemies. Abram acknowledges that the victory was not his but God's, and gives him a tenth of everything.
Abram swears that he will take nothing of the spoils of the king of Sodom, so that no one can say he made him rich. He prefers that his prosperity come from God alone, and his integrity stands as an example for anyone tempted by dubious gain.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Lot, Abram's nephew, who was living in Sodom. — Genesis 14:12
Answer: Three hundred eighteen men born in his house. — Genesis 14:14
Answer: King of Salem and priest of God Most High. — Genesis 14:18
Answer: He brought out bread and wine and blessed him by God Most High. — Genesis 14:18-19
Answer: A tenth of everything. — Genesis 14:20
Answer: So that no one could say the king of Sodom had made Abram rich. — Genesis 14:23
Genesis 14 invites us to act with courage for those in danger. Abram did not stay home claiming that Lot had chosen badly; he went to rescue him. In a group you can ask whom we can help even when their situation is the result of their own decisions.
Abram also offers an example of integrity. He had a right to the spoils but chose not to owe his wealth to anyone but God. Ask in which areas, such as money, favors or recognition, you need to decide clearly that your dependence is on the Lord.
Genesis 14 ends with Abram free of any obligation to Sodom, backed by Melchizedek's blessing. In Genesis 15 God will speak to Abram in a vision and tell him not to fear, for he is his shield and his great reward.
Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High in Abram's time. Psalm 110:4 announces a priest in the order of Melchizedek, and Hebrews 5 through 7 shows Jesus as the fulfillment of that priesthood, superior to the Levitical one. The Bible reveals no more about his identity.
The text does not explain them. They can be understood as a gesture of hospitality toward the men returning from battle. Some Christians see in them a foreshadowing of communion, but the passage does not state this directly.
Abram recognizes Melchizedek as a priest of the same God Most High he serves and gives him a tenth of everything as an act of gratitude for the victory. It is an example of a voluntary offering that predates the law of Moses.