1 At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim 2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. 11The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother[c] of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
So what happened?????
That was also my first reaction when I read this story. Let's break it down into smaller chunks.
First off, the first 11 verses shows us simply one thing, there are a bunch of kings beating up all the other kings across the entire land. These are the four bad kings. They conquered the entire known world, and when this occurred, the five good kings (including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah) rebelled. Well, the four bad kings didn't like this, so they went to fight against the five good kings and won.
So what?
Why in the world is the writer of Genesis telling us about this story of the four bad kings and the four good kings? We just left off at chapter 13 with Abram and Lot separating, and next thing you know, we are talking about wars? What's the point to our story of God rescuing the nations through our hero Abraham? The point comes in verses 11-12. Look at what it says:
11The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
The point is this, look what happens when you don't live a life following after God. Lot and Abram, as we learned yesterday, were crowding each other, so God gave Lot a choice on which land to go and live. He chose poorly. He chose by looking at worldly things, like wealth and comfort rather than moral people, Godly people. Because of this decision, look at the mess he got himself into. This will occur again in Genesis 18. This is a good warning for our lives. When we choose the things of this world over the things of God, we get into messes. It leads to enslavement, wars and even death. But look at how God intervenes.
13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother[c] of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
God uses his chosen person, Abram, to rescue Lot from his own sins. This is not the first time this will happen to Lot. Abram rescues him again in chapter 18. That means that Lot did not learn his lesson after this. He continued to live among the wicked in Sodom and Gomorrah.
How many times do we do the same thing. God rescues us from our sin, from us being lost, and gives us new life in Christ, yet we continue to go back to our old way of life, over and over again. And God has to rescue us over and over again.
My challenge to you today is this...Don't go back. Like Lot, God rescues you from your bad decisions, so quit making them. Like Abram, live a life of faith that leads to not you being rescued, but you rescuing others. We can be like Abram or Lot. It's your decision.
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