Genesis 14

Abram’s Excellent Adventure
Or
Lot’s Bogus Journey


Lot gets captured in a military conflict and Abram goes to save him. (Genesis 14: 1-16) I thought long and hard about how to best dissect what is happening here into some understandable format, not only for the children, but also for any teacher who would use my commentary in their classroom. What might be the larger principle to learn here? What is the point of including this small story into the larger story of the beginnings of the Hebrew people as a nation, as the children of God? Do we really need to read about the political machinations of the various tribal powers that wandered the deserts of the ancient Middle East? What is the relevance of this episode to Abram and Sarai’s larger story of becoming the parents of a great nation?

And then I realized how Chapter 14 is a thematic continuation to Chapter 13 – Abram continues to take care of and show responsibility for the welfare of those people important to him. Lot, having merely lived close to Sodom at the end of Chapter 13, was now residing in Sodom with all of his possessions. Unfortunately for Lot, he fell prey to the looting of an army who had recently been the victors in a war that settled a rather long-standing political feud of 14 years. Am I letting Lot off the hook here? I don’t think so – he should have known what was going on politically in the region or at least learned about it as he lived there. But you can’t anticipate being carted away across the desert by an invading army.

After being informed of Lot’s abduction by someone who had eluded capture, Abram then gathered up his 318 (isn’t that a rather specific number?) trained men to pursue the army that had captured Lot (maybe to hold him for ransom). Judging by his tactics of dividing his force to surround the enemy at night, Abram also seems to have been a capable military strategist. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (p46) declared that a force of 318 men was very large for its day and time, more than capable of being able to defeat most any army that stood against them. Thus, with such resources at his disposal, Abram chased the invaders to the north of Damascus (into modern-day Syria), rescuing Lot, his possessions, and his family.

Again, what jumps out of the page at me is Abram’s willingness to take care of those people who mean a great deal to him. We are not privy to Abram and Lot’s personal feelings regarding their seemingly amicable separation in Genesis 13, but it would have been very easy to build up a grudge regarding what happened. However, it seems that no matter what Abram felt, he believed that Lot deserved and was worthy of his help. Thus, it seems that, even without projecting intuitions and presupposing emotions upon Abram, the principle still rings true – we should want to help our friends and love ones when we see them in trouble. Sadly, we don’t live according to that adage as often as we should.

Abram Meets Melchizedek. (Genesis 14:17-24) What we have here is another incident where Abram’s character is wonderfully exemplified. As Abram returns to his tents following his successful journey to reclaim Lot, two men meet him: the King of Sodom and Melchizedek, the King of Salem. The King of Sodom was there because Abram, when reclaiming Lot, also procured the possessions that the other kings captured when they overran Sodom and other towns. Melchizedek was present because he was probably the most important king in the area.

However, Melchizedek was more than just a king; he was a priest of God’s. The author of Hebrews felt that Melchizedek was a typological forerunner and image of Christ to Abram. Why else would have Abram have willingly given him a tenth of all he owned after just meeting the man? Many people teach that Melchizedek was a theophony – an angelic being sent to earth to give forth an image of God to the people of God. As Hebrews 7:3 tells us, “He [being Melchizedek] is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.” (Hebrews 7:3, ESV)

However, Melchizedek’s status as either human or not is a moot point really. Abram’s reaction would most likely have been the same either way – showing reverence and respect to those he felt were worthy, people he felt were of God. Abram tithed a tenth of his money to the King of Salem to show admiration for the King’s position as leader of the peoples of the region and because he recognized God as being present in the life of Melchizedek. Abram’s giving of his tenth occurred after being blessed by Melchizedek in this manner: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” (Genesis 17:19ff-20, ESV) I feel that this wasn’t some support group that these 2 men joined, but a way for them to connect with each other in a rather pagan world.

After this exchange, the King of Sodom decided to win back his people to his side, a crucial point as the King wants to see his people return to their homes. Abram was well within his rights to keep all of the people and resources that he had recovered, but he was honor-bound to God to treat people in a manner that he would want to be. But Abram gave all of the people and belongings back to the King of Sodom with these words, “… I have lifted my head to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything else that is yours, lest you should say, ‘ I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” (Genesis 14: 22ff-24, ESV)

Abram realized that, to keep all of the goods of Sodom that he had retrieved from the fleeing armies, he would be allowing someone to say that they had played a part in blessing Abram. The covenant between Abram and God was designed for only God to have the distinction of directing, guiding, blessing, and providing for Abram’s journeys and fulfilling the promises that had been made to Abram and Sarai. Abram could have taken everything and tithed more, but chose to honor the fact that God had promised to take care of Abram; he wouldn’t need any outside assistance.


Teachers: Two primary things to focus on here. First, talk about how important it is to take care of the important people in our lives. Abram honored his brother and father with the way that he always took care of, protected, and loved Lot. When we help others, it allows for blessing to enter our lives. Second, Abram’s tithe to Melchizedek shows us how crucial it is that we honor the people of God in our lives. Yes, we should love our neighbor as ourselves, but we should also seek to show specific love to the people that God has placed in our lives to help us, assist us, and guide us. Thus, I feel it makes most sense, when teaching through this chapter, to read Genesis 14:17-24.

Genesis 13

Abram’s Excellent Adventure
Or
“Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”

Quoting from The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, “The primary requirements for a successful herding group are pasturage and water sources. The hot, dry months from April through September require movement of herds to higher elevations where grass remains and streams and springs can be found. In the colder, wet months of October through March, the animals will be brought back to the plains for grazing. This seasonal movement necessitates long separations of herders from their villages or the establishment of an unconnected, semi-nomadic lifestyle in which whole families travel with the herds. The knowledge of natural resources along their routes of travel would be their primary lore. Disputes of grazing land and water rights would be the most frequent cause of quarrels between herdsmen.” (Walton, et al; p44-45)

Abram & Lot separate: How clear is that? If there are too many sheep and herdsmen and too few natural resources sharing the same space, there are going to be arguments and disputes over who gets to use what. It’s not really that surprising that this happened, as it was bound to happen eventually as Abram and Lot traversed the Negev countryside between Egypt and Canaan. “… For their possessions were go great that they could not dwell together.” (Genesis 13:6ff, ESV)

Abram, Sarai, and Lot covered territory ranging from Egypt to the Negev Desert to the area between Bethel and Ai, where Abram had built an altar when his caravan first arrived in Canaan. Thus, after all of their traveling to that point (200 miles from Bethel to Egypt + 200 miles from Egypt to Bethel = 400 miles), the amount of flocks, herds, and property they owned had increased. This was an entirely natural procession of events, considering that nomads literally lived and died by the health of their flocks. And besides, I figure that the writer of the book of Genesis (Moses?) would have mentioned specifically any events (famine, drought, attack by outsiders) that would have led to Abram & Lot’s flocks decreasing in number.

Yet, what is so important to learn from this part of Abram’s story is how the two men resolved the situation. They handled their employees’ dispute over resource availability and sharing in the only manner appropriate to their situation – through conversation, discussion, and compromise. “Then Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between you and me, between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.’” (Genesis 13:8-9, ESV)

And with that declaration from Abram, Lot chose the Jordan Valley, leaving Canaan proper, and moved his tents close to Sodom. While Lot’s future deleterious relationship with the people of Sodom will be discussed later, I do want to say that I do not feel that Lot’s decision at this point was any indication of his leanings or inclination. Nowhere in this passage does it ever mention that Lot chose this area because of his selfishness or sinfulness that he possessed. It simply says that he liked what he saw in the Jordan Valley and took his uncle Abram up on the offer he made for Lot to have the first choice of where he wanted to live.

Side Note -- Genesis 13:13 does tell us, “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.” What is to be derived from this verse? Are we to be under the impression that Abram and Lot knew that the people of Sodom were wicked? Or was this verse included by the omniscient author of this book who had the knowledge of Sodom based upon the way that the story of Lot in Sodom would eventually play out? I don’t want to guess or presuppose knowledge upon Abram or Lot, mostly because, to do so, it would mean that I would be reading the story already knowing the way the story would end. Not enough people give Lot the benefit of the doubt when retelling and explaining these events, so I will. Forgive me…

After all of this, Abram looks across the horizon at Canaan, the land that Lot chose for him, yet the land that God had always chosen for Abram, Sarai, and their descendents. God reminds Abram, “Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:17, ESV) Once again, Abram and Sarai receive the promise from God that they will be the progenitors of a great nation that will cover all of the land that Abram sees to the north, south, east, and west, numbered as if they were as countless as the dust of earth. And once again, Abram and Sarai are faced with the issue that they are both advanced in years and barren up to this point. Nevertheless, Abram moves his tents to the area of Hebron where he builds an altar to the Lord, acting upon his faith in the Lord. Would that I had such faith…

Genesis 11:27 – 12:9

Abram and Sarai’s Excellent Adventure
Or
Abram and Sarai’s Bogus Journey


Terah leads his family (Genesis 11:27-32): Lest we ever forget (or maybe just didn’t learn in the first place), Abram and Sarai’s travels began with them first following Terah, his father, as he chose to uproot his family so that they might relocate to Canaan. To be sure, I’m not trying to discount all that Abram and Sarai would come to do; I’m just seeking to give credit where credit is due. Granted, we don’t know why Terah decided to relocate his son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and all of their belongings, but he did so regardless. Maybe Abram and Sarai just needed someone to help them get their foot out of the door of their homeland; maybe Terah’s decision to move to a new locality served as an excellent and inspired example to them.

Terah himself was the father of 3 boys: Abram, Nahor, and Haran, 2 of whom had children of their own. Abram and Sarai, however, had no children, as Sarai “… was not able to conceive.” (Genesis 11:30ff, TNIV) From time immemorial, most world cultures have deemed a couple’s ability to bear children to be of highest societal importance. Whether the pressure came from religious or secular sources, couples unable to procreate were frequently marginalized and looked down upon as weak and/or sinful.

Along with Abram and Sarai’s troubles, Terah had to face the fact that his son Haran had died, leaving behind three children: Lot, Milkah, and Iskah. Orphaned children, even in our present society, typically have limited rights and representation, even to the point that they are often abused and forgotten. Luckily for Lot, as the oldest and only son, he was the heir to all of his father’s wealth – livestock, land, and all other possessions. Such was his privilege in being born into a patriarchal society.

For Milkah and Iskah, their position as women was much more tenuous than Lot’s, as it has been only in recent years that women have risen above the second-class-status that had been imposed them for so long. Milkah was the wife of Nahor, the last of Terah’s children; the Bible does not state what happened to Iskah. Granted, the family has often been the institution that has taken care of orphans, but such care often comes at a price: Milkah was mostly likely married off to Nahor and Iskah was most likely married off to someone, as women were viewed as property to be bought, sold, and traded.

His decisions concerning Milkah and Iskah notwithstanding, Terah deserves some credit for bringing Lot along with him on his journeys, as he could have easily left Lot behind to fend for himself on his inheritance. Terah, I propose, seemed to be an ideal patriarch, the man from whom Abram learned all of his best traits. Terah sought out what was best for his family and took care of that family, to the best of his ability. By choosing to relocate them, Terah was offering a brand-new start to Abram, Sarai, and Lot, a life that, due to their standing in their society, they might not have been able to live out in Ur of the Chaldeans. However, as plans can change, Terah had his family settle and live, upon their arrival in the city of Harran, aborting the journey to Canaan. Terah never made it to Canaan, since, “Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.” (Genesis 11:32, TNIV)

God comes a-calling (Genesis 12: 1-9): And with utterly no pretense, God came to Abram in the midst of what was most likely a very safe and comfortable existence with his father in Harran. God declared to Abram that there is this far-off place where Abram and his family should be headed, but the catch is that only God knows (no pun intended) where they will all be going. However, though Abram, Sarai, Lot and their entourage were being asked to travel across the (Saudi Arabian) desert with no clear idea of their destination, God did have a beautiful set of promises to set before Abram.

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3, TNIV)

I don’t know about you, but I would be really scared, honored, frightened, blessed, and pee-in-my-pants freaked out if anyone would spoken this over me, probably even more so if God had told me this in any kind of audible voice. What does that say about you and me if we were to have that kind of reaction? But the fact is that it is not noted specifically what Abram might have thought when God told him this. We can assume that there was some natural, human trepidation within Abram and Sarai at their hearing God’s promise over their lives, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. Abram just gathered everyone up and left, going where God directed his family. Absolutely amazing…

Think about what God is proclaiming here, compared with the human reality of the situation. 1) Abram will be the father of a great nation, though he and Sarai are physically unable to have any children. 2) Abram’s name will be made great, though there is no evidence that Terah or Abram were leaders of any kind in Ur or Harran. 3) God will bless Abram, Abram will bless others, how people respond to Abram will determine how God responds to them, and everyone on earth will be blessed because of Abram, even though Abram really hadn’t done anything worthy of receiving such other-worldly, insanely, seemingly-impossible-to-enact blessings. I’m not even sure how to process reading this section, much less imagining myself as Abram hearing God speak this over him and his family.

So, what does Abram do in response to this? He packs up everything and everyone, just as Terah had done with their move to Harran (though they had originally set out for Canaan). However, this time, the difference was that Abram would complete the journey that his father never did, traveling about Canaan to the great tree of Moreh at Shechem, the hills east of Bethel, and going down into the Negev and Egypt. Abram heard from God the promise that Canaan would belong to Abram’s offspring and responded by building an altar to the Lord at the great tree and in between Bethel and Ai.

How can I even begin to relate to Abram here? Has God asked me to move across whole nations and expanses of land with no forewarning, with the only promise that God will lead me, though I know not the way? No, God hasn’t, but I have been asked to step outside of my comfort zones, to leave behind the ideas, plans, and expectations that I’ve created for my life. Has God told me that I will be the father of a great nation that will spread across and bless the whole world? Not yet, but I have been told to forget what I think and to stop talking so often, so that I might be able to listen more fully to what God wants to say to me. Hmmm… I guess maybe I can find a bit of Abram inside of me; maybe I need to start finding a bit more of him, the part that actually believes and obeys after listening to God speak to me. Look at how often Abram talked to God in these verses – not at all…

Genesis 11: 1-9

Strange Languages
Or
“Hey! Let’s Build Something and Become World Famous!”


We have here the famous story of the Tower of Babel, a key scenario in the propagation of peoples around the globe. Many would say that this scene is a metaphor or a folktale, akin to something out of Aesop’s Fables, and I would be inclined to agree with them. It’s not that I doubt intentionally because of the content of this story, but because many other cultures around our world have similar stories and myths outlining the dissemination of languages and peoples.

Do not interpret this statement in a manner that might describe me as a purely inclusive universalist. I simply feel that there is much the reader & listener can learn from the tale described in these 9 verses. That is what makes this narrative valid, not whether it actually happened or not. The worlds of the historical fact and nonfiction description are not the exclusive purveyors of truth.

The events of this story are very straightforward. At the time, all of the people in the world were of one language, of one common speech pattern. And this makes much sense, as everyone was very nearly related to everyone else. That’s what happens when men and women have very long life spans and procreate very extensively. And with the advent of these large immediate and extended families, people were running out of livable land relative to the size of those families. Thus, according to this story, people moved eastward to the plain of Shinar, a region that will come to be known as Sumer, Babylon, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Iraq. We aren’t sure where these people moved east from, though some feel they could have been living simply more to the west in the historical “Fertile Crescent”, in present-day Israel, or in eastern Africa. But regardless of their origins, they arrived and settled there.

What follows is an anthropological lesson in the development of cultures and their engineering practices. These peoples had made the transition from collecting and assembling rough stones to harnessing fire so that they could bake bricks and melt tar for mortar. This being the Middle East, there was lots of petroleum byproducts readily available. Moreover, they were choosing to build a city in which to live, deciding not to live in tents and wander about seeking their fortunes as hunter-gatherers.

This is actually fairly significant in terms of measuring a civilization’s status and progression. Not only had they made a long journey to settle a new homeland, they possessed the tools and knowledge necessary to inhabit the land. Kilns in which bricks were to be fired were not hallmarks of migrants; they were tools that befit a tribe/people/ethnic group that was set down long-term, stable roots. Also, their knowledge had progressed to where they were experimenting and researching in order to better their lot in life. One has to burn lots of clay to finally determine a process by which you achieve a building-worthy brick. These were not migrant peoples of the stereotypical Bedouin archetype; this was burgeoning civilization.

Where these people went wrong was when they decided to do more than just build a city in which people could live and start families. They openly declared that they were going to build a tower that would reach to the heavens so that their name would be known in all of the earth. You would think, by now, that humanity (especially the descendents of Noah) would have a pretty decent idea of what God, His judgment, His opinions, and His preferences would be throughout the Old Testament. But no, not humans – we always seem to choose what’s so very wrong for our well-being. This whole free-will thing is such a blessing and such a curse.

And I would say that the issue would not be the people’s desire to settle permanently as a civilization. I’ve heard it preached that God wasn’t pleased because these people were trying to do everything (building a city and/or building a civilization) on their own terms, not in God’s time. My response to that would be that the core issue is the blatant fact that the builders & organizers were building primarily for their glory, as opposed to building for God’s glory or for functional purposes by the city’s inhabitants.

In verses 5-7, God comes down from Heaven to see what the people of the city were doing, to what extent this building project was being pursued. And God was astonished at the scene, prompting a response that still rather confuses me. “The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’” (Genesis 11:6-7, TNIV) Why this reaction? Yes, I can see why God would have issues with people exalting themselves and attempting to achieve permanence, even though humanity has proven to be rather temporary & ephemeral. However, why God feels that it is necessary to create new languages in order to facilitate the dispersal of these people is beyond me.

And that’s why God is God, and why I’m not.

But here’s this thought – it’s not just how God dispersed the peoples of the world, but why God did so. I can’t quite wrap my mind around God’s reasoning – if people keep building and working together, they will be able to do just about anything. This flies in the face of God’s usual penchant for letting humanity use and abuse its collective free-will. God sent languages to confuse the builders of the city, dispersing them, and separating them purposefully because of their unified ambition. Did God feel they weren’t ready to work together? Does God think we still aren’t ready to work together? Does God only want people working on good things, ready to stop people if their purposes don’t line up with God’s?

Regardless of my questions and concerns, I must return to the discussing the fundamental lesson that anyone who reads this story should be able to intuit. The people of Babel were dispersed because they built and created with the sole purpose of immortalizing themselves throughout the world, in defiance of God being God. Whenever people try to exalt themselves to a position equal to or above that of God’s, they should realize that they are stepping outside of their role as created beings. I am not advocating that people should live in fear of God’s impending and imminent judgment upon our wrongdoing, but I do believe that too many people throughout world history have lived as if they were gods unto themselves, to typically tragic outcomes. God has promised many things to people throughout the Bible, and all of them are dependent upon people fully recognizing their status as the creations of God. I just hope that my life can serve as an example of someone who looks to God first in deciding what is best for my life, because I know that I’ve listened to myself too often and for too long.