May
the mumbling commence!
Sometimes
we get ourselves into pickles. And we
need the help of our Christian brothers and sisters to get out. That was the case for Lot. And Abram came to the rescue. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
A fugitive came
and reported to Abram the Hebrew.
Abram was living at the Oaks of Mamre the
Amorite, brother of Eschol and Aner.
They were allies of Abram.
When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken
prisoner, he lined up his servants, all of them born in his household – there were 318 of
them – and chased after the captors all the way to Dan. Abram and his men
split into small groups and attacked by night.
They chased them as far as Hobah, just north of Damascus. They recovered all the
plunder along with
nephew Lot and his
possessions, including the women and the people.
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and his
allied kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet
him in the Valley of Shaveh, the King’s Valley. Melchizedek, the
king of Salem, brought out bread and wine – he was priest of The High God – and blessed
him:
Blessed be Abram by The High
God,
Creator of Heaven and Earth.
And blessed be The High
God,
who handed your enemies over to you.
Abram gave him a tenth of all
the recovered plunder.
The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me back the people
but keep all the plunder for yourself.”
But Abram told the king of Sodom, “I swear to God,
The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth,
this solemn oath,
that I’ll take
nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I’m not going to
have you go around saying, ‘I made Abram rich.’ Nothing for me
other than what the young men ate and the share of the men who went with me,
Aner, Eschol, and Mamre; they’re to get their share of the plunder.” (Genesis 14:13-24)
Now
read the same passage from the NIV translation:
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 of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 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. During
the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as
Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods
and brought back his relative Lot and his
possessions, together with the women and the other people.
After Abram returned from defeating
Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the
Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out
bread and wine. He was priest of God
Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies
into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give
me the people and keep the
goods for yourself."
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that
I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even
a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that
you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the
share that belongs to the men who went with me – to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre.
Let them have their
share." (Genesis 14:13-24)
The
Lord worked through Abram to save Lot.
After the battle, Abram would accept no plunder. Violence does not make us rich. God makes us rich when we choose to follow
the Lord God.
And
we are to offer a tithe of our wealth to the Lord. The differences in translation make me think
of it. When Abram gave the tithe to
Melchizedek, was it a tithe from the plunder… or was it a tithe of all Abram
owned?
I always assumed that it was a
tithe of the plunder… as Peterson’s work states. But what if it is broader? And if it is broader (which I now think it
was), then Abram did not force his choice on his allies.
We can learn much from Abram!
Enough
mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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