Setting the Captives Free

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE

Gen 14:1-20

14:1 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. 11 The 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 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. 17 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). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

That is a lot of kings and a lot of rebellion, fighting, killing, violence, which is normal for mankind. There will always be war between those who have, but want more. Each of those men was a king of their own city or area of land, living the good life. But greed is at the center of their plans to take from another so they could have more. None of this involved Abram until those kings overcame the city of Sodom and took the people captive and their possessions, including Lot. So, because they messed with his relative, Abram went into action and routed those kings and their armies, taking back Lot, his possessions, together with the women and the other people. Abram took care of his own family and did what was needed to secure Lot and return him to his home. All this culminated in Melchizedek, the king of Jerusalem, serving bread and wine to Abram. Of course, this foreshadows the bread and wine Jesus served his disciples in Salem, or Jerusalem. Jesus has also been referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek according to the writer of Hebrews, with a quote from the Psalms. Melchizedek has no lineage, as there is no record of a father or mother. Again, foreshadowing the high priesthood of Jesus. Although Jesus uses the term Father, Jesus is God, having no beginning and no end. We could spend days with Melchizedek and Jesus, but the truth we want to focus on is this blessing he gave Abram and Abram's response with the tenth of everything. First, Melchizedek made sure Abram knew that the God Most High was the Creator of heaven and earth. Everything was created by God Most High, and in his great power and might, his mighty hand was responsible for Abram's victory over his enemies. Sure, Abram, with his 318 fighting men, had to fight a battle and put forth an effort to win, but the victory was won because God Most High was with Abram and caused the victory. We can take that lesson for our lives. We cannot sit in our easy chair and wait for God Most High to give us everything; we must go forth to fight the battle and put forth effort; however, that effort must be under the direction of the Lord. Abram did not fight just to fight, but to free Lot from captivity. Abram had to be inspired by the LORD to free Lot. We believe it matters what we do in life, because we live among people whom we can have some influence on in their lives, so that they may know the power of God Most High.  Abram fought for the release of Lot. Jesus set the captive, us, free. Are we meant to simply live for ourselves, or to live for each other, fighting for their release from captivity by the prince of darkness?