Lesson 11<\/p>\n
Trouble in Greener Pastures<\/p>\n
Genesis 14<\/p>\n
Me-<\/p>\n
Choices made for the wrong reasons do lead to problems.\u00a0 There was one warning that I always gave my sons once they reached their teenage years.\u00a0 I said to them over and over, \u201cIf you are out all hours of the night you are looking for trouble.\u201d\u00a0 Time after time I have read of people who have put them themselves in danger because they were out in a place where they should not have been instead of being safely at home.<\/p>\n
Just recently I heard of two young men who were involved in a fight outside of a night club. I don\u2019t know if they were actual participants or not, the very fact that they were at the site put them at risk.\u00a0 Somehow they got pushed out into the street where they were struck by an automobile.\u00a0 One was killed. The other man was seriously injured.\u00a0 What happened to them was totally preventable if they had made the decision to remove themselves from a volatile and as it turns out a dangerous situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We-<\/p>\n
I have often said that there is no perfect church. \u00a0Many seem to think there is such a place only to find that no matter where they go, they find imperfect people. There is also no church that at times does not have volatile situations arise that could possibly destroy it. \u00a0Where there are people we are going to find differences of opinion and often open conflict. One of the other things that I have said is \u201cIf one keeps leaving a church because of something they do not like they will either run out of churches or stop going altogether.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our desire should be to overcome those issues.\u00a0 This can be done only if church decides to move in the direction of truly trying to follow God\u2019s word.\u00a0 It is a difficult thing to fight off the tactics and schemes of the devil and remain true to the teachings of Christ.\u00a0 More liberal bodies do not seem to have these struggles because they have drifted away from the word into a position of anything goes.\u00a0 By doing so they cannot face the issues of the world in a Christ like manner.<\/p>\n
All of this brings us to the point of what possibly could Lot do next?\u00a0 Surely, he should be a position where he could be happy and successful.\u00a0 The question is, can a person like him ever find satisfaction?\u00a0 How could he stay out of trouble with his unsettled spirit?<\/p>\n
Genesis 14:1-6<\/p>\n
The narrative begins with the forming of two coalition armies being formed. In one there were four kings.\u00a0 Two of leaders were Amraphel and Chedorlaomer along with other kings of city states located east of the Jordan River. There were armies from Shinar in present day Iraq and Elam that was in what in Iran today. Their opponents were five kings from the area of the Salt Sea now called the Dead Sea. They were led by the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah. This would be same as Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico having an army that was going to fight against Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell.<\/p>\n
For twelve years the kings of the west had paid tribute to Chedorlaomer but in the thirteenth year stopped.\u00a0 When the first war mentioned in the Bible ensued the cities attacked did not include either Sodom or Gomorrah. \u00a0The territory seem to lie mostly east of the Jordan and into the land of Ham.<\/p>\n
Genesis 14:7-12<\/p>\n
The second wave of attacks included among other cities the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.\u00a0 The two armies met in the valley of Siddim. As the battle went on the army of Chedorlaomer and Amraphel defeated the army of Sodom and Gomorrah.\u00a0 The two kings fled and fell in to one of the many tar pits in the area. This caused disarray among the men and the army was scattered leaving behind a good deal of booty which Amraphel and Chedorlaomer took.\u00a0 Among the prisoners who were taken was Lot and all of his possessions.<\/p>\n
Genesis 14:13-16<\/p>\n
From all indications either Abram did not know about the war or he had settled down and did not intend to get involved with the problems of others that did not concern him. Abram first heard of the news concerning his nephew by one of the people who had fled from of the people who had been dislocated by the war.\u00a0 It is interesting that this is the first time the term Hebrew is used to describe Abram.\u00a0 Upon hearing of Lot\u2019s situation he took the men of his household who he had trained, numbering 318, out to rescue his nephew.\u00a0 His strategy was two-fold.\u00a0 He would first use the element of surprise by attacking at night.\u00a0 Secondly his small army was divided. Like Gideon he probably intended to surround the enemy.\u00a0 His plan worked as he was able to defeat a much larger group of men with the few he had with him.\u00a0 He also achieved the goal of rescuing Lot and his possessions.<\/p>\n
Genesis 14:17-20<\/p>\n
Upon returning from the battle two men who were totally different met him.\u00a0 The first was the king of Sodom.\u00a0 The other was Melchizedek, king of Salem and God\u2019s high priest.\u00a0 Much is said of Melchizedek as a type of Christ both in the Psalms and Hebrews.\u00a0 Reference to \u201ca type\u201d\u00a0 by theologians means that the individual described had the characteristics and attributes of the coming Messiah.\u00a0 David mentioned him in Psalm 110:4.\u00a0 The writer of Hebrews used that verse to expound on Christ being a priest not according to the Old Testament, but the promised high priest who was like Melchizedek. See Hebrews chapter 7 for the writer\u2019s interpretation of this passage.<\/p>\n
When Melchizedek appeared on the scene he brought refreshment for Abram.\u00a0 More importantly, this man of whom so little is known blessed Abram, who was to be the first patriarch of the Jewish people.\u00a0 After receiving the blessing Abram gave the priest a tenth of all he had captured from Chedorlaomer.<\/p>\n
Genesis 14:21-24<\/p>\n
Not to be outdone the king of Sodom offered to let Abram keep all of the physical booty in exchange for turning all of the people over to him.\u00a0 He really did not have any claims to anything since he had lost the battle to king Chedorlaomer.\u00a0 He needed people to be king.\u00a0 It was better to have subjects than a bunch of stuff.<\/p>\n
Abram responded by refusing to take anything for himself.\u00a0 The reason was he did not want to be beholden to such an evil man who might claim that he was the one who made Abram rich.\u00a0 The only part of the booty that would not be given back to the king was what his allies had eaten and captured.\u00a0 He took nothing for himself. \u00a0Notice he did not even attempt to negotiate for Lot\u2019s release.<\/p>\n
You-<\/p>\n
We-<\/p>\n
Each of us has found ourselves in situations over which we have no control.\u00a0 We may be so overwhelmed that we are unable to even see how the issue can be resolved.\u00a0 The old saying of not being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel would fit the circumstances.\u00a0 We are so blessed when someone comes along side us to comfort and give moral support.\u00a0 We should expect to find this kind of help from the church.\u00a0 Within the body God has placed those who have the gift of mercy who are willing to step forward when there are times of crisis in a family or an individual\u2019s life.\u00a0 By doing so that person becomes a \u201ctype\u201d of Christ to the recipient of the help.\u00a0 May our church always be that kind of body of Christ to a hurting world.<\/p>\n
(Although this lesson is a little shorter taking a look at the comparison of Melchizedek and Jesus as mentioned in Psalms and Hebrews will provide some insight.)<\/p>\n
Additional Notes:<\/p>\n
BL- In chapter l4, war broke out among the area kings and Lot and his household were taken prisoner.\u00a0 Abram responded with 318 trained men and rescued Lot’s entire household.\u00a0 As Abram returned home, he was met first by the King of Sodom,\u00a0and then by\u00a0Melchizadek, king of Salem.\u00a0Little is known about Melchizadek, but he is identified here as a\u00a0king and “priest of God\u00a0Most High,” and\u00a0Abram accepted the bread, the wine, and the blessing that Melchizadek bestowed on him. Abram, in turn, gaves Melchizadek\u00a0a tenth of everything he had won in battle in gratitude for the victory God had granted him. (Interestingly,\u00a0Hebrews 7\u00a0speaks of Jesus Christ as a priest “in the\u00a0order of Melchizadek,” meaning that Christ came from\u00a0a special line–not through Aaron and his descendants, the Levites, whom God appointed as priests in Exodus 28–but from a superior line in which the roles of king and priest were combined.)\u00a0 However, when the King of Sodom tried to give\u00a0Abram some of his war booty, Abram refused to have anything to do with it!\u00a0 In doing so, Abram\u00a0indicated that his allegiance was to God alone\u00a0and he would have nothing to do with the sinful king of Sodom.\u00a0(How often do we choose to indulge in the pleasures sin offers, rather than choosing the good things of God?)\u00a0<\/p>\n
GC-Unlike so many today, Abram did not desert his family in times of distress and crisis. (Gen. 14:14-16)<\/p>\n
\u00a0C-Abram assumed the role of a military leader in order to rescue his nephew Lot who by this time had moved to Sodom and got caught up in a war among several kings. (Gen. 14:14-16)<\/p>\n
M-Abram refused to be under obligation to any man and especially the leader of an evil city.\u00a0 This is a clear case of not to be unequally yoked to the world. (Gen. 14:22-24)<\/p>\n
GC-Abram understood that he was to owe no man anything.\u00a0 By refusing to accept any of the spoils of the battle he would not be under obligation to anyone but God.\u00a0 Make no alliances with those who are evil or accept anything from them that may affect our witness.\u00a0 We are to trust God to provide our needs. (Gen. 14:23-24)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lesson 11 Trouble in Greener Pastures Genesis 14 Me- Choices made for the wrong reasons do lead to problems.\u00a0 There was one warning that I always gave my sons once they reached their teenage years.\u00a0 I said to them over and over, \u201cIf you are out all hours of the night you are looking for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}