Behaving Boldly in the Blessing

Well, it's wonderful, seeing all of you here, this morning and just being able to worship the Lord through song, expressing our hearts to Him, celebrating communion, and, and now, worshiping, the Lord by opening our hearts to Him and hearing his word. before we, do that, just some good news to share with you. last Sunday, it was my privilege to, baptized, Josh Bessard, a young man, in our, church who gave his life to Jesus Christ, I believe in January of, of this year. And so we're, it was an honor for me to be able to baptize him and stand in the unheated waters of a swimming pool.

Last Sunday, you remember it was rainy and cold and So, Josh and I bonded for life in that swimming pool. But it was a wonderful privilege. He's going off to basic training in the Air Force this week. so be praying for him that he'll be a light.

a light for Christ wherever he goes. let me invite you to turn in your Bibles, this morning to Genesis 14. Some of you have been wanting to get back to Genesis. today, your wish is fulfilled.

Genesis chapter 14, we're gonna be, looking at all of chapter 14 today verses 1 through 24, and if you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be behaving boldly in the blessing. one of my, earliest memories in life was of, of an occasion when I was 4 years old and playing in our front yard with my older brother. And at some point while we were playing together, some toy that we were playing with got thrown up onto the roof and got stuck. On the roof.

It did not come down. So we went inside and got our dad and asked him to come outside and we told him about the toy of ours that was on the roof. My dad sized up the situation and decided To solve the problem by having me go up onto the roof and get the toy. so he picked me up over his head high enough so that I was able to reach up and grab the side of the roof and climb onto the roof and get the toy.

Once I got the toy, I started to, came to the edge of the roof and started to turn around so that I could get off the roof backwards, hoping to cling to the roof and lower myself down and have my dad grab me as I did so. But my dad saw me starting to do that and told me to stop. He told me to turn around and face him as I stood on the edge of the roof as a 4 year old. By the way, this is not parenting advice for you.

So I did what my dad told me to do and then my dad held up his hands and told me to jump from the roof into his arms. I felt queasy enough being on the roof. And to my 4 year old brain, it seemed a long way down into my dad's outstretched arms, and I wasn't sure that he would be able to catch my massive muscular. Actually, skin and bones 4 year old frame.

I said to my dad, let me just come down the way that I came up. I preferred to just lower myself down to him, clutching onto the side of the roof until I was sure that he had me firmly in his grasp. But my dad steadfastly refused to let me do that. He kept insisting that I jump from the roof into his arms.

He promised me that he would catch me. He promised me that it would be easy for him to catch me and that it would pose no problem for him at all. But instead of trusting my dad, I fussed and I whined and kept insisting on a safer alternative. After about 10 minutes and my dad giving me about 50 promises, I finally and very timidly Jumped from the roof towards his outstretched arms.

And what happened? My dad kept his promise. He easily caught me and drew me into his arms and I learned a little more deeply that day that I could trust. My father And what I wanted to do after that?

I wanted to get back on the roof. And jump into my father's arms again, only this time more boldly. It is this very dynamic of learning to trust and growing in boldness that we see playing out in Abraham's life in the book of Genesis so far and in our passage today as we come back to our study of the book of Genesis. In Genesis chapter 12, we saw how God speaks to Abraham in the city of Haran and calls him to leave his father's house and come into a land that he would show him.

When God delivered that call, he made to Abraham what amounts to a sevenfold promise. Listen to what he says. Beginning in verse 2 of Genesis 12. He says, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great.

And so you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you. And the one who curses you, I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. We saw many months ago how Abraham jumps from the roof into God's arms in response to those promises, and he obeys God's call and embraces the promises of God to leave Haran and to go to a place that God would show him.

He leaves Huron and we saw in chapter 12 how he comes into Canaan, and we saw how Abraham, to his credit, travels through the length of the Land of Promise, worshiping the Lord, and then he ends up settling there. But we also saw in the second half of chapter 12, how Abraham became insecure during a time of famine in the land. He went down to Egypt and he lied about Sarah being his sister in order that he might protect his own hide and have things work out to his advantage. In that moment, Abraham is not acting like he believes God's promises are actually true.

And his lack of trust in God and God's promises turns Abraham into a cowardly and timid and conniving and small-minded man. We saw how Abraham's plan backfires in Egypt. Sarah got taken away from him and was brought into Pharaoh's house. We then saw how God intervened and rescued Sarah, and we saw how Abraham Or we saw how Pharaoh sent Abraham and Sarah out of Egypt with many gifts which Abraham happily took.

We saw in Genesis 13 how a chastened and humbled Abraham returns to Canaan and he worships the Lord, teaching us that there is flourishing and faith after failure. We saw how eventually his encampment and Lot's encampment became too large for them to live together. Lot was Abraham's nephew. So in an amazing indication of spiritual growth and trust in God, and generosity toward Lot, Abraham says to Lot, you pick where you wanna live, and I will settle wherever you don't pick.

So Lot chose the well-watered area near Sodom, and Abraham settled near the oaks of Mamra, and he worships the Lord there, and that's where we last saw Abraham, at the end of Genesis 13. This morning, we're going to pick up in Genesis 14. And in this chapter, we're gonna see evidence that Abraham is continuing to grow in faith, and he is growing increasingly comfortable and bold inside of the promises of the blessing from God. And we will see Abraham actually making decisions and living as if he really believes that God's promises are true.

And we will see Abraham waxing bold in the promise. The promises of God. The way we're going to frame things this morning is we're gonna observe five developments in this historical account of Abraham behaving boldly inside the promised blessing. of God.

And the first of these developments, which takes a little bit of time to tell as chapter 14 unfolds, is that Abraham's relative, his nephew actually gets captured. And taken away. Now the first several verses of chapter 14 tell us the story of how all of this happened and the story is told in stages, and we get a glimpse of world events and Abraham's day, and it all leads to the announcement in verse 12 that Abraham's nephew, Lot, Got taken First of all, we're told about how Sodom and the surrounding cities were brought into subjection to the Mesopotamian kings of the east.

Starting in verse one, the text says, and by the way, there's gonna be a lot of big words in this chapter.

Pray for me as I read this to you. It says in verse one, and it came about in the days of Amrael, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Alasar, Kedorlaomor. King of Elam and title King of Goim. Now, we'll stop right there.

We don't know exactly where these four kings of verse one ruled, but everyone agrees that these are kingdoms that were located along the arc of the fertile crescent, basically inside the, the red oval or whatever that shape is that you see on the map. Verse 2 tells us something that these kings, this confederation of kings did together. Moses tells us beginning in verse 2, that they made war with Beah, king of Sodom, and with Bersha, king of Gomorrah, Shainab, king of Adma, and Shemeer, king of Zeboim.

And the king of Bala, that is Zohar.

All these came as allies to the valley of Sadi, that is the Salt Sea. In other words, these kings from the east came as allies. Against these cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities that are mentioned. The cities or the city-states that are mentioned here of Sodom and Gomorrah and Adma and Zeboim and Belah were clustered around what we know today as the Dead Sea, the southern part of the Dead Sea, in a place that existed in Abraham's time that was called the Valley of Sidim.

Which is likely now covered. Underwater covered by the southernmost portion of the Dead Sea, which Moses calls the salt Sea here in Genesis 14. Long story short, Moses is telling us that these kings from the east made war with the kings in the valley of Sadi, and after subjugating them, they forced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities mentioned to pay tribute to them. And for a while, the city-states in the valley of Sadi tolerated this setup, but then revolution broke out.

In verse 4, Moses says to us, 12 years they had served these cities in the region of the Dead Sea, 12 years they had served Korleermore. Who was the primary leader of this confederation of kings from the east. But the 13th year, they rebelled. Essentially these city-states at the southern part of the Dead Sea.

declare their independence from the kings of the east, just like the American colonists did over 200 years ago, declaring their independence from Britain. Not surprisingly, their rebellion sparks a response from the Confederation of Kings in the east, and they promptly come with their armies to squash the rebellion. That was taking place. Only they do so much more as they are traveling toward these cities to make war against Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities mentioned.

While marching their armies toward the Valley of Sadi, they would have traveled along the arc of the fertile Crescent and then begun to travel south through the land of Canaan. While marching their armies down toward the valley of Sadi, they attack and they conquer everywhere they go. Starting in verse 5, we learn the following. In the 14th year, Ketolaamer and the kings that were with him came and defeated the Rephaim.

In Ashtaroth, Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emi in Shave Kiryathaim, and the Horites in their Mount Sier as far as El Peran, which is by the wilderness. Long story short, they're attacking cities that are on their route. To the cities that were in the valley of Sadi, which is where they were really heading. The armies of the kings of the east actually travel right by Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities and they go down to El Peran that you see at the bottom of the picture on the screen, and they conquer that city and then verse 7 tells us that then they turned back and they came to in Mishpat, that is Kadesh that you see on the map.

And they conquered all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived in Hazaz own Tamar that you also see on the map. At this point, the armies of the east now have the rebel cities in the valley of Sadim cut off from any help from any surrounding cities. Every city-state around the valley of Sadi has been defeated and conquered. The cities in the valley of Sadi now have no choice but to come out and face their enemy that is now approaching them from the south.

So look at what happens next, verse 8. And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Adma, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Balah, that is Zohar, came out and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Sidi. And then Moses has to give these names one more time. Who are they fighting against, in case you wanted to know, against Kedolaamer, king of Elim, and Tidal, king of Goe, and Amrahael, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Alassar.

4 kings in the valley of Sidi against, or I'm sorry, 4 kings from the east fighting against 5 kings. In the valley of Sade. And so a war takes place. And guess who wins?

The 4 kings from the east defeat the 5 kings who were clustered at the south of the Dead Sea. But the narrator doesn't focus on the defeat of these five kings. He simply spotlights what happened with Sodom and Gomorrah. Look at what he says beginning in verse 10.

Says now the valley of Sadi was full of tar pits, which by the way, is true to this day. If you just research the Dead Sea, there's asphalt. I think it was Josephus who refers to the Dead Sea as the asphalt sea. Because of asphalt that seeps up from the bottom of the Dead Sea.

And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and they fell into them. In other words, the tar pits. But those who survived fled to the hill country. Now, when the text tells us here that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into the tar pits, this doesn't have to mean that they died.

In fact, later in the story, we're gonna see that the king of Sodom is very much alive. So verse 10 could either mean That they fell into the tar pits in a fall that did not mean their death, or it could mean that they lowered themselves into the tar pits in order to hide from the pursuing armies. The expression those who survived just in the Hebrew literally means those who remained. In other words, those who were not in the tar pits kept on running for the hills and hid in the hills.

So look at what the kings of the east now do. Starting in verse 11, we read, then they, the kings of the east, took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food supply. And departed We know from later in this account that they also took people, including the women of the city. In verse 12, we learn of one of the persons that they took, and guys, this is the only reason that this story makes it onto the pages of scripture.

Verse 12 reads as follows. They also took Lot, Abraham's nephew. And his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom. Notice that Lot is living in Sodom now.

The last time we saw Lot, he was setting up his camp in the direction of Sodom. But now he's living in the city fully enmeshed in the culture and all the wickedness there and now he finds himself caught up in the calamity that has befallen the city of Sodom. But everything we've seen so far in chapter 14 is simply designed to tell us the story of how Lot, Abraham's nephew, was taken by this army from the east and is now being carried off into captivity. If there is no champion to come and to save Lot.

Lot will lose all of his possessions, and he will live out the rest of his life as a slave somewhere in the east. By any measure, these kings of the east have had an amazingly successful military campaign, right? They've experienced victory over every enemy wherever they have gone. They are finished now and they're heading back north and then along the arc of the fertile Crescent back to their homeland.

They are loaded down with the spoils of their victories and now have many fresh slaves for their kingdoms. I'm sure they're celebrating. I'm sure they're high fiving each other as they head back to their homeland satisfied with everything that they've accomplished. And ready to regale the people of their home countries with the stories of their epic victories in battle.

But they made one mistake. One mistake, which is going to prove costly to them. Their mistake was that they took Lot, who happened to be the nephew of a man named Abraham, and that will end up changing everything. This brings us to the next development in the story of Abraham behaving boldly in the promised blessing of God, and that is 2, Abraham hears the news of his nephew's capture.

He hears the news of his relatives capture. says in verse 13, then a fugitive came. In other words, someone fleeing from Sodom and Gomorrah. Then a fugitive came and told Abraham the Hebrew.

Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eschol and brother of Anna, and these were allies. With Abraham. Notice that Abraham is called the Hebrew here. This probably is a reference to Abraham as a descendant of Ebert, who is mentioned in the genealogies of Genesis 10 and 11.

It's the exact same Hebrew word, Eber and Hebrew, same. Root word. Abraham is referred to as the Hebrew here. He's a descendant of Eber and so is Lot, and that makes them relatives.

And that also makes whatever happens to Lot relevant to Abraham. We learn here that Abraham was living by the oaks of Mamra, which was where we saw him settling at the end of chapter 13. He seems to be getting along with his neighbors and has an an alliance with the people of Mamra, Eskol, and Enna. They pledged to live together in safety with one another and they've signed treaties essentially promising that if any of their interests were ever threatened.

By some outside entity, they would all join forces together to help out the person whose interests were being threatened. It's into this peaceful scene. That this fugitive comes with bad news for Abraham. In verse 13, we're told that a fugitive from Sodom and Gomorrah came and told Abraham, the Hebrew about what had happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and what had happened to Lot.

And once Abraham hears what has happened, he immediately swings into action to rescue Lot. And guys, that says a lot already about Abraham. Abraham could have said, well, I guess that's what Lot deserves for living in the wicked city of Sodom. I'm not gonna risk my life to go rescue him.

He doesn't deserve that from me. Abraham could have said, even if I wanted to help Lot, what could I do? If these kings from the east have defeated every city that they have attacked, how in the world could I stand up to them and stop them? John Phillips, the commentator.

Also says that Abraham could have said, I'm a farmer, not a fighter. God has not called me to be a soldier, but a saint. I don't know anything about war. Abraham could have responded in any of these ways, but he didn't.

God has promised to bless Abraham. And bless those who bless him and to curse those who curse him or do bad to him. God has promised to use Abraham to bring blessing to the families of the earth. Abraham believes these promises and he decides to harness these promises to the benefit of Lot.

And his family And this brings us to the next development in the story of Abraham behaving boldly inside the promised blessing of God, and that is Abraham goes to war. And rescues his nephew. He goes to war and rescues. His relative lot.

Look at what Abraham does beginning in verse 14. When Abraham heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men born in his house, 318 and went in pursuit as far as Dan. This verse is telling us that he let out his trained men. We're told that these trained men were born in his house, which means that they were very loyal to Abraham.

And they're trained men. Basically they're Abraham's security team. They are his special forces. His commandos for occasions such as this.

The text tells us that Abraham and his special forces went in pursuit. Of the armies of the kings of the east as far as Dan, and it was in Dan that Abraham meets up with these armies. And notice Abraham's strategy when he reaches the region of Dan. Verse 15, he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants And defeated them.

There's no doubt that Abraham and his men here are outnumbered, but using the tactics that they use, they succeed. Abraham divides his forces and he decides to attack the enemy from different angles at night when the enemy would be sleeping and when Abraham and his men would be less visible. Keep in mind that these armies are not expecting anybody to attack them. Who would dare to attack them after all of their victories.

That they have won and all the enemies that they have routed, they're overconfident, they're smug, and they're not expecting an attack like this. The text says that Abraham and his men attacked these armies and the text says they defeated them. You might wanna write this reference down. the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 7 verse 1 uses the expression slaughter of kings.

To describe what Abraham and his men do here in this military engagement, indicating that there is bloodshed and death inflicted by Abraham and his men. Lot, Abraham's nephew, has been taken. And now Abraham and his special forces are using their very special set of skills that they've acquired over a very long career. Skills that make them a nightmare for armies like this.

They have looked for these soldiers who have taken Lot. They have found them, and now they are killing and wreaking havoc until they get Lot back. Their assault results in the death of many and it sends the remaining soldiers running for their lives. We're told at the end of verse 15 that Abraham and his men pursued them as far as Hobba.

Which is north of Damascus, somewhere off the map that you see, north of the map that you see on the screen behind me. After defeating these kings and sending them running back to their homelands, the text tells us what Abraham does next. In verse 16, it says he, Abraham brought back all the goods and also brought back his relative lot with his possessions and also the women and the people. This would mean that Abraham is bringing back the women and the people of Lot's household, but it also means that all the women and the people who had been taken from the valley, the cities of the valley of Sadi are being brought back with Abraham.

Just think about this for a moment. This is an amazing Thing that's happened. What a brazen attack by Abraham against the armies of the east. What an amazing victory this is for him.

People might have thought that Abraham was insane to go up against such a strong coalition of armies, but Abraham is waxing bold here in the promises of God. He didn't fear for his life, God had promised to bless him and to make of him a great nation. And Abraham is acting here in this chapter as if he really believes the promises of God toward him are true. And he's harnessing the blessing that God has promised him.

For the benefit of others, especially Lot and his family. And it's now time for Abraham to return with Lot. And all the people and the goods that he's gained in his victory. In his return, Abraham would have made his way south through the Land of Promise toward Jerusalem on his way back to Hebron, which was about 17 miles south of Jerusalem.

cause the oak, the oaks of Mamra were close to Hebron. And then from there, Abraham would no doubt figure out what to do with all the people and the goods and how to dispossess them and get them returned. That he now had on his hands. For the moment, I just want you guys to stop.

And think about what must be going through Abraham's mind as he's returning from victory in battle back. To the land of promise and what he's feeling at this point. He's just accomplished a massive victory and is now flushed with the spoils of that amazing victory. What would you be feeling if you were Abraham?

That's Would you feel pride? Would you let it go to your head? These armies of the east had mowed down everybody who stood in their way, experiencing nothing but victory, and Abraham goes against them with 318 of his men, along with some other allies that we'll learn about in a few moments, and Abraham defeats them. That had to have been a heady experience for Abraham.

The old Abraham, the one who went down to Egypt. would be thinking about how he could harness this victory and use it to his own personal advantage. He would be wanting to keep all the spoils of war and use it all to expand the scope of his holdings. He could also use his victory to his own political advantage.

Everyone will now fear Abraham. Perhaps now is the time for Abraham to press on and conquer all of the land of Canaan, or at least get people to pay tribute to him from all around the land of promise. Abraham could easily use this victory to become powerful and feared and wealthy beyond imagination. My point is that this is a critical moment.

For Abraham And it reminds us that oftentimes the occasions. The occasion in which we need to be most vigilant and on the alert. is right after the victories. That we experience.

But what we see Abraham doing after his victory turns out in my mind to be even more impressive than the victory itself. This leads us to the next development in the story of Abraham behaving boldly in the promised blessing of God, and that is Abraham receives blessing from Melchizedek and gives a tithe. To him on the other side of his victory. It's interesting what happens in the narrative here is Abraham returns back through the promised land toward home.

His route takes him near Jerusalem. Until he found himself in a place called the Valley of Chavet. Which was likely about 1 mile south of Jerusalem. According to the first century historian Josephus.

In verse 17, the text says this, then after his return from the defeat of Catolaamer, and the kings who were with him, The king of Sodom went out to meet him, Abraham, at the valley of Shave, that is the king's valley. Obviously the king of Sodom has heard of Abraham's victory. He's heard that Abraham has freed the captives and got all the goods back. So the king of Sodom is coming out now to meet Abraham and to conduct some business with him.

And it's what happens next that's fascinating. We're told in verse 17 that the king of Sodom is coming out to meet Abraham, but before he reaches Abraham, Another character, Melchizedek, comes out of nowhere and meets with Abraham first. In the flow of the narrative, this feels very much like an intervention, and it is. It's obvious that God wants Abraham to have an encounter with Melchizedek first before he meets up with the king of Sodom.

So look at what the text says. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. Now he, Melchizedek, was a priest of God Most High. We could do a whole sermon on Melchizedek.

who is spoken about in Psalm 110 and in the book of Hebrews. In many ways, Melchizedek points us to the ultimate Melchizedek, who is Jesus Christ Himself. As we go through the verses here, there's questions that are gonna come to your mind and they're all great questions about Melchizedek. And guess what?

The writer of Genesis 14 ignores all of your questions. There is mystery here that is left preserved by Moses in this account. And some of those questions get answered. In Psalm 110 and in the book of Hebrews, but for every answer you get, there's more questions that are raised.

But keeping our thoughts this morning trained on the text of Genesis 14, we learned several things about Melchizedek. We learned that the name itself is a combination of the word Melech that means king, and the word Zedek that means righteousness. So the name Melchizedek means king of righteousness, and the writer of Hebrews actually confirms that and tells us that in Hebrews 7. We also learned that Melchizedek is the king of Salem.

Which according to the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 7:2 means King of peace. It also means that Melchizedek is the king of the city called Jeru Salem. Which would later become the capital city of Israel. Melchizedek is also described here as a priest of God Most High, which means that he represented God before men and represents men before God.

This is a godly man, a worshiper of the true God. This is the first time we have a priest actually mentioned. On the pages of scripture in its Melchizedek. Before there was any mention of the priesthood of Aaron or the Levitical priesthood that descended from the Levites later in Israel's history, there is the priesthood of Melchizedek that transcends all of them.

And this is a fact of huge messianic import that will be developed later in scripture, in Psalm 110 and in the book of Hebrews. In verse 18, Melchizedek is described as a priest of God Most High, and here we have a name of God, God Most High, and this is the first time that we see this name. In scripture It's El Elyon. You guys have heard that name before.

This name of God puts the emphasis on the absolute superiority of Jehovah God. It highlights the fact that he is highest of all. Nothing and no one is ever over him in authority, in power, in goodness, and in beauty. He is the ultimate.

He is the highest. We're told in Genesis 14:18 that Melchizedek brings out to Abraham two items. He brings out to him bread and wine. And he does this as a gesture of friendship.

This basically amounts to an invitation to Abraham to sit down and dine with him, which is what good friends do. Abraham and Melchizedek would have lived only about 17 miles from each other. So there's little doubt that they are friends, that they've known each other prior to this moment. So if you imagine here a scene of Abraham and Melchizedek sitting down.

At a meal together, then you have a pretty good picture of what is happening here. Perhaps Melchizedek provided a full banquet. Meal for Abraham and his men, but the writer of Genesis wants us only to focus on the fact that at the center of it all, was bread and wine that this King of peace, King of righteousness, this priest of the Most High God is bringing out to Abraham as they dine together. Reminds us of our King of righteousness, right?

Who comes to us often as he did this morning with the bread. And the wine in the Lord's Supper. In addition to giving him the bread and the wine, Melchizedek speaks blessing over Abraham. Look at what verse 19 says, and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abraham of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.

Think about it this way, guys, Melchizedek is not so much really imparting a blessing here that Abraham did not already have. As much as Melchizedek is just simply giving voice to something that was already true of Abraham. As the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 7 verse 6, Melchizedek knows that in speaking these words, he merely blessed the one who already had the promises. Abraham's victory over the kings of the east is in itself evidence of God's blessing upon Abraham.

Which he promised in Genesis 12, and all that Melchizedek is doing here in this verse is giving fresh voice to the blessing. to this blessing from God and reminding Abraham that he's truly blessed by God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. And Melchizedek is basically saying to Abraham, the God Most High, who has no rivals, The God who has no one above him, the God who possesses absolutely everything in heaven and on earth, the God who is so powerful that no one can ever stop him from carrying out his intentions to bless you, Abraham.

This is the God who has set his blessing on you.

And look at what Melchizedek says next, verse 20. He says, and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Now we see why Abraham won. Melchizedek is giving praise to God for Abraham's victory.

He's reminding Abraham that his victory in battle was not Abraham's doing. It wasn't Abrams's brilliant strategy of dividing his forces and attacking at night, nor was it the coalition he had built with his neighboring tribes who went with him in battle, nor was it because of how well trained his 318. Men were Abraham's victory came because God Most High intervened on Abraham's behalf and delivered Abraham's enemies into his hand and helped him to rescue Lot. Melchizedek is giving all the glory to God and he's reminding Abraham of who Abraham needs to be giving glory to as well.

God is the one who delivered your enemies into your hands. How does Abraham respond to this blessing? Keep in mind that speaking a blessing like this over someone. is something that a superior ranking person does to somebody of inferior rank.

Which means that Melchizedek here is acting as Abraham's superior. Speaking about this very moment. In Genesis 14, the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 7:7 that without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. And Melchizedek is the greater.

In this moment speaking. Blessing over Abraham. So how does Abraham respond? Does he chafe under Melchizedek acting as his superior by speaking this blessing over him?

No, he humbly responds by receiving the blessing. And then he also responds by giving an offering to Melchizedek. The text says in verse 20, and he gave him 10% of all. Meaning that he gave Melchizedek 110% of all the spoils that he had gained.

In war. In this one act, Abraham is clearly indicating his agreement with Melchizedek that God has blessed him, that God has given him victory in battle, and in a large-hearted and generous way, Abraham is now taking 1/10 of everything that he gained in war, and he's giving all of that to this true priest of God Most High. This one who represents the God Most High, who gave Abraham the victory in battle. Essentially, this is Abraham giving 110% of his income from war.

To the Lord and his generosity here says a lot about his trust in the Lord and how comfortable Abraham is inside of the promised blessing of God. Sure, I'll give 10% of this to the Lord. Now the reason Melchizedek's visit, guys, is so timely is because God knows that there is another king who's on his way, remember? To visit Abraham, the king of Sodom.

And Abraham's time with Melchizedek will help him to respond best. In the best way possible to the king of Sodom. Abraham is about to conduct business with the king of Sodom, and God evidently wanted Abraham to have his devotions with Melchizedek. Before he met up with the king of Sodom.

Abraham is just dying with the King of righteousness, the King of peace, and had the blessing of God freshly spoken over him. And now Abraham is ready to respond properly to the king of Sodom who now approaches him. And this brings us to the final development in the story of Abraham behaving boldly in the blessing of God. And that is Abraham refuses the spoils offered to him.

By the king of Sodom. He refuses. The spoils offered to him by the king of Sodom. Look at what happens.

As the king of Sodom approaches Abraham in verse 21, it says, and the king of Sodom said to Abraham, Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself. Notice that the king of Sodom does not come to Abraham and say, blessed be God Most High, for the victory he has given to you. He gives no glory to God. He offers no recognition of Abraham's God.

We learned back in Genesis 13:13 that the people of Sodom were wicked exceedingly in their sin against the Lord. And this is the man who presides over that wickedness. And he comes to Abraham and gets right down to business and literally says to Abraham, here's how the Hebrew reads, Give the souls to me. Give the souls to me and take the goods for yourself.

How's Abraham gonna respond to that? Look at Abraham's bold response and see the evidence that he has been marked deeply by his time with Melchizedek. Verse 22, and Abraham said to the king of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, I have made Abraham rich. Guys, notice that Abraham refers to God as Most High, and he refers to God as the possessor of heaven and earth.

Both of these expressions were used by Melchizedek. And the blessing that he had spoken over Abraham. It's clear that Abraham's encounter with Melchizedek was a timely and a powerful one, and it helped to actually prepare Abraham for this encounter with the king of Sodom and actually shapes the language that Abraham uses. It also seems that Abraham made a formal promise while he and Melchizedek were together.

The New American Standard Bible says that Abraham had sworn. But the literal Hebrew has Abraham saying, I have raised my hand. Indicating a formal oath that Abraham had uttered, likely in Melchizedek's presence. And Abraham's oath was that he would not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that belonged to the king of Sodom.

The formal nature of this oath and the scope of it to include the tiniest item indicates, guys, that this is a very big deal to God and a very big deal to Abraham. Imagine if Abraham had kept The people of Sodom. And brought them into his camp. Along with their goods, what wickedness might they have brought into Abraham's camp?

Anyway, I love how bold Abraham is speaking and acting here. He's talking to a pagan king, a wicked man who presides over wickedness, and Abraham doesn't just default to general term terminology. He doesn't say, I, I think it best, I feel led. According to my faith, I just feel led to return everything to you, so here you go.

No, he says, I've raised my hand to God Most High possessor of heaven and earth. That I will not take so much as a shoestring of your stuff. He's speaking very specifically about his God. To the king of Sodom, and what was his motive?

Look at what he says in verse 23 at the end, for fear you would say, I've made Abraham rich. Guys, this is not friendly talk. Evidently, Abraham knows something about the king of Sodom. He knows that the king of Sodom is a prideful man who's quick to take credit for things like this.

Abraham knows that the king of Sodom is not really seeking to bless Abraham as much as he's seeking to expand his own reputation as the man who made Abraham rich. And Abraham says, I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not gonna take your stuff because if you go around telling people that you made me rich, then people won't realize that it is God Most High who made me rich. And I will not let you compete with God for the glory of the blessing that is in my life.

Abraham says merely this to the king of Sodom, I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten. And the share of the men who went with me, these are his neighbors, the neighboring tribes, Anna, Eskol, and Mamra. Let them take their share. But I'm not taking anything.

It's here we learned that Abraham did not go into battle alone. The men that he was in alliance with also went with him, so Abraham. is basically saying to the king of Sodom, I will take nothing from you, but let these other men. Who helped me take their share.

Abraham returned back to the Land of Promise after his victory with much spoils of war. And what does he do with it? He gives 110% to the Lord. And then he lets his allies take other portions of the spoils.

And then lets the king of Sodom. And no doubt the other kings take the rest of it all back. To their cities in the valley of Sade. And Abraham's left with nothing.

Other than he rescued his nephew Lot and Abraham is totally OK with this. The world would look at what Abraham is doing right now and say, you are crazy. But he's not. He's a man who has found his comfort zone inside the promises of God.

And he's learning to put Those promises of blessing. to use for the blessing of others. The only thing Abrahams seems to take in this whole chapter. Is the bread and the wine.

And the blessing That Melchizedek, the king of righteousness, spoke over him. And that's enough for Abraham. Guys, there's a lot for us to learn from this chapter. Let me just focus on one thing as we close.

You might say, Pastor Milton, I, I think I would act boldly like Abraham does in this story. I would launch out, I would venture out, do bold things for the Lord. I'd be generous like this. I, I think I would act boldly like Abraham does in this chapter if God made the same promises to me that he makes to Abraham.

In Genesis 12. I would ask you, have you read the New Testament lately? Have you read the book of Ephesians lately? In the book of Ephesians, God tells you he has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

He tells you that Christ has died and was raised for your salvation. He tells you that you are forever accepted in Him. He tells you that he predestined you to salvation before the foundations of the earth were laid. He tells you that he has put his spirit inside of you as a guarantee.

that you will inherit eternal life. And he tells you that you can be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might, and you can wage war knowing that you will succeed against any enemy who comes against you. And God assures you in the book of Ephesians, that he has done, and he is doing, and he will do. Exceedingly abundantly beyond all that you could ask or think, according to the power that works in you.

The statements, if you just read Ephesians alone, the statements and the promises that God gives you in Ephesians would make even Abraham jealous. You and I are living in the fuller fruition of what God had promised to Abraham. So guys, read your Bibles, read the New Testament, read God's gospel promises to you. In the book of Ephesians, for example, and then live as if you actually believe those promises are true.

Make those promises your comfort zone. Make the blessing of God in Christ your comfort zone. When you do that, that's when you're able to venture out. On daring missions for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.

You can fight knowing that ultimately the victory is yours. You can speak boldly and specifically about your God before wicked people like Abraham does. You can find your contentment in Jesus, preferring the bread and the wine that he offers. And say no to the sorry substitutes of this world.

And you can be generous in giving to the Lord and sharing with others, knowing that God will provide for you. In other words, You can jump from the roof when God calls you to jump. You don't have to live your life coming down from the roof backwards, clutching onto the roof with white knuckled intensity until you're absolutely sure that God Has a hold on you You can jump boldly. Because God is good, and God is faithful, and that his promises that are given to you in Christ, in the gospel.

are true. Let's pray together Lord, we thank you for your word and for What we find in this chapter that is for our spiritual prophet. We thank you that you are a promise-making God. And a promise keeping God.

And we ask Lord that you would make us A congregation. A people who live boldly, who speak boldly. Inside the promised blessings of God that are given to us in Christ. Deliver us from cowardice.

From anxiety, from timidity. And give us a boldness, Lord, that is rooted. In your promises. Which are faithful and true.

I pray if there's any in this room this morning, Lord, who have not yet Jumped from the roof of their own good works and into your arms to experience salvation through your Son Jesus, that they would make that leap today and find in you their 100% savior from sin. And for those of us who have believed in you, Lord, Help us. To believe and help our unbelief. May the promises and the blessings you speak to us in the gospel shape us and mark us and enable us to behave boldly.

And the promise. And in the blessing we have in Christ. We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to give up our offerings to you at this time in our service, receive these funds, help us to give boldly to you, while at the same time we give boldly ourselves to you. In the name of Jesus, and all God's people said, Amen.