Genesis 13:14

The Bible says in Genesis 13:14-18, “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.” Of course, these verses give more details about the promise that God had made to Abram. The promise involved the land of Canaan: what we call today Israel and Palestine. Concerning this land, God said to Abram, “thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”

There is both a physical and a spiritual application to this promise about the land. From a physical standpoint the land of Canaan has been promised to Abram. That promise continued through the linage of Isaac. Isaac was the son of promise. God keeps His promises, and that land was promised to the children of Israel because of the promise made to Abram. That is why that even after hundreds of years with the land being overrun by the Gentiles, yet still the land comes back to the descendants of Abram through Isaac and Jacob. Should the land be overrun by the Gentiles again, it will eventually once again be inhabited and ruled by the children of Israel. Those who hate the Jews and who resist the Jews coming back to the land are those who resist God and His will. God always wins because He decides all things.

Those who resist God will lose everything. They will lose the land, they will lose their lives, and they will lose their souls. The last great battle of this world will take place in the promised land when the enemies of God come against the children of Israel. Revelation 19:11-21 tells how that battle will end. It says, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” If you are wise, you will find out which way God is going, and go with Him. You will also turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness before your opportunity to do so is gone.

In the incident that follows it is especially important to note what takes place in regards to the city of Sodom. Sodom is in a confederacy of five cities and their kings. For thirteen years the king of Elam, named Chedorlaomer, had kept the five cities in subjection. The cities rebelled and the result was war. In the battle that ensued, Chedorlaomer took goods and captives including Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram assembled an army and interceded to rescue Lot, his kinsman. It says in Genesis 14:1-16, “And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.”

Why was Abram so successful in opposing Chedorlaomer and the kings with him? The answer can be found back in Genesis 12:2-3 where God promised to Abram, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” You do not want to pick a fight with someone who is walking in fellowship with Christ because the Almighty God protects His children and fights on their behalf. If you watch what happens to those who harm God’s children, in time you will see God’s judgment fall upon them. Believers should pray for their attackers, because we have the love of Christ in our hearts and because we know how terrible it will be for the unbelievers when they fall into the hands of the living God.

This incident about Lot’s rescue in Genesis chapter 14 tells us something important about God’s faithfulness to His children. Lot did not seem to be a very faithful believer. He made a very bad choice when he put material needs before spiritual needs, and Lot made a very bad choice when he took his family to live in Sodom and Gomorrah. But God still took care of Lot. When Lot was captured God blessed Abram and obviously helped Abram to rescue Lot. Later in the book of Genesis God delivered Lot out of Sodom before the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Once you become one of God’s children, you will find that God will be faithful to you even when you are not faithful to Him. He does chastise His children when necessary, but He never stops taking care of them because of His eternal love. The Bible says to Christians in Second Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

After Abram won the battle against Chedorlaomer and rescued Lot, the Bible says in Genesis 14:17-20, “And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” Melchizedek is a significant person in the Bible because of what we are told later. Melchizedek was symbolic of Christ the high priest. In two other passages in the Bible we are told about Melchizedek’s significance.

Concerning the Messiah, Psalms 110:4 says, “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” This is the second time in the Bible that Melchizedek is mentioned. This passage was written hundreds of years after Melchizedek met Abram on the plains of Mamre. It is a wonderful example of the divine inspiration of the scriptures. In order to fully understand a passage of scripture, often we need to find out what other passages tell us on the same subject. That is why it is very important to study the entire Bible. One passage of scripture will shed light on the true meaning of another passage of scripture. It also emphasizes the danger of taking verses of scripture out of context and teaching about that scripture in an isolated fashion. The full context of any passage of scripture is always what the entire Bible has to say on that subject.

The importance of Melchizedec is that he symbolized several things about the Messiah. The Messiah is “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedec.” What kind of a priest was Melchizedec? Notice that Melchizedec was not a Levitical priest. In other words Melchizedec was not of the law. The law had not yet been given, and so of course Melchizedec was not of the law. But Melchisedec was a priest “forever.” There was no beginning or ending to the priesthood of Melchizedec: at least there was none recorded in the Bible. Why did it happen this way? Because Melchisedec was symbolic of the Messiah. Something that has no beginning or ending is eternal. That is the definition of being eternal. This is in contrast to the Levitical priesthood. The Levitical priesthood was not eternal. It had a beginning and an ending: just like the law itself. It began when the law began on Mount Sinai. And it ended when the law ended: at the coming of the Messiah. That is the point being made in Psalms 110:4 and which is also emphasized in more detail in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews. The new covenant replaced the old covenant. The new covenant is better than the old covenant. The new covenant did what the old covenant could not do.

The Bible says in Hebrews 6:19 through Hebrews 7:22, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.”

The Levitical priesthood ended. The law ended. The old covenant ended. They were meant to be only temporary. They served their purpose. They were replaced by Jesus and by the New Testament. Who is your priest who intercedes on your behalf before the Father? It is not too late for you to bow before Jesus and accept Him as your Savior and as your High Priest.

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