There will always be people around we don’t particularly care for. Something about them just rubs us the wrong way. It may have been a bad first impression, or perhaps you witnessed the person doing something you don’t agree with. It might be that the person is just plain weird, and your instinct is to get away from him or her as soon as possible.
Genesis 14:8-21
“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. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself. 22 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 23 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.' 24 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."
Abram rescued his nephew Lot, who had been kidnaped by a raiding party from his home in Sodom. In doing so, however, he was forced to come into contact with the king of Sodom, and from reading between the lines, Abram did not like him at all. “Why would that boy want to live in such a place, and with such a despicable king for a ruler?” Abram refused to keep anything he retrieved in the raid, so it couldn’t be said that Sodom made Abram rich.
In the middle of this story, though, something strange happens. The king of Salem came out to meet with Abram and Abram gave a tenth of his plunder to Melchizedek. This happened before he met with the king of Sodom. Melchizedek was a priest of “God Most High” (El-Elyon) and came with a blessing for Abram. At this point it is hard to know if Abram understood who Melichizedek was or which God he served. This obscure figure is mentioned later in the New Testament as a foreshadow or type of Christ. But why did Melchizedek come out and bless Abram, and why did Abram give a tenth of his plunder to him?
Maybe Melchizedek just didn’t rub him the wrong way.
No comments:
Post a Comment