Verses 1-3 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
The name Amraphel means “sayer of darkness”, and he was the king of Shinar which later was known as Babylon. The name Arioch means “lion-like”. Ellasar was a town east of Ur and the name means “God is chastener”. The name Chedorlaomer means “handful of sheaves” and Elam means “eternity”. The name Tidal means “great son” and it is thought that he was “king of nations” because he was the leader of various nomadic tribes that moved about and so had no permanent dwelling places.
Bera was the king of Sodom and his name means “son of evil”. Birsha’s name means “with iniquity”. Since God saw fit to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great evil and iniquity, it is amazing that their leaders had these names which described the character of the two cities perfectly. The name of Bela means “destruction” and this city became Zoar which means “insignificance”. Siddim was the name of the valley where the Dead Sea is located.
Verses 4-7 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.
The Scripture is silent as to why these four kings originally attacked the five kings leading to their servitude for 12 years. The resulting rebellion, however, lead to the original four kings renewing their alliance to stop the rebellion. Chedorlaomer attacked the Rephaims which were the giants and apparently subdued them. He then moved on to attack several other people groups.
Verses 8-9 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
The response to Chedorlaomer’s attack was for the five kings to also form an alliance to counterattack.
Verses 10-12 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
King Solomon is credited with saying that there was nothing new under the sun. Regarding wars, this is true as down through the ages yesterday’s wars and today’s wars cause innocent people to get caught in the battle and get hurt or killed. Lot was one of the victims of this battle who was taken captive along with all that he had.
Verses 13-14 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Abram only had 318 trained fighting men and he boldly went after the army of the four kings which had been victorious up to this point. Remember, they were not afraid to attack the giants. Note that there was a city or an area called Dan during Abram’s time. Later, Abram’s grandson had a son called Dan who was the father of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The name means “a judge” and Abram was, with God’s help, going to pass judgement on Chedorlaomer and the other kings at Dan. Note also that the number 318 when added together equals 12 which is the number of Godly government.
Verses 15-16 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
This is the first account of a major war in the Bible involving united nations. It is interesting that the war involved a man of God going against men who were serving the Devil and not the LORD. It is also interesting that God’s plan for replenishing the Earth after the flood was for people to spread out. Remember that when they unified as one people to rebel against God, He confused their languages to prevent this unification. But now, these different people groups were unified in alliances involving committing sins both against the LORD and against many innocent people.
Application: God can intervene in the affairs of men anytime He wishes, and He does intervene. However, God has always had His chosen people, and like Abram, all converted Christian believers today are His chosen people. So ask yourself, “What are they chosen for?” Just like Abram, they are chosen to do battle against evil and against the powers of darkness in this world. Abram was engaged in a physical battle. Believers should be engaged in a spiritual battle. Unlike Abram, the battle today is not against any one person or government or nation. It is against the Devil and his fallen angels and against the sin in this world. Ephesians 5:11 commands, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” The Greek word translated as “reprove” is “elegcho” and it means to rebuke, convince, tell, or convict. Think about this.
Abram did not attack as one large group, but divided his men and then chose to fight at night where he had the advantage of surprise and the cover of darkness. The city of Hobah was north of the city of Damascus and the name means “hiding place”. With God’s help, Abram was victorious and liberated Lot and all of the people with him along with their stuff. The enemy could not hide from Abram as God used him and his servants to judge and punish the wicked kings.
Verse 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
Shaveh was the meeting place of Abram and the king of Sodom and the name means “level plain”. The king and the people of Sodom would have been grateful to Abram and would have viewed him as a hero. On this level plain where the people gathered, there was no difference between Abram and the king in whose presence he now found himself. It would be difficult for most people to remain humble when hero status is bestowed upon them. But as the next verses demonstrate, Abram remained humble.
Verses 18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Melchizedek is the first recorded priest of God in the Scripture. He appears out of nowhere and is reported to be the king of Salem which means “peace”. He does not bring a meal to feed Abram’s men, but brings bread and wine which is a foreshadowing of what has become known as “the last supper” of Jesus with his disciples and the “communion” ritual carried out in Christian churches in obedience to Jesus’ command. “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 Melchizedek then blesses or praises both Abram and God. Notice that it is God who possesses Heaven and Earth and who delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand to punish and destroy. So who is this Melchizedek?
Psalms 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:6 As he saith also in another place, Thou are a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 6:20 Wither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Melchizedek is believed and taught by many church pastors to have been the LORD Jesus Christ manifested in the flesh. This writer does not believe that Melchisedec was the LORD Jesus Christ but believes that Melchisedec was a type of Christ and was the first recorded High Priest of God and that he was a man that God raised up years before Levi was born to Jacob, destined to be the father of the tribe that became the priests under the Law and under the first Covenant given to Moses in the wilderness. So Aaron, Moses’ brother, being of the tribe of Levi became the first High Priest under the Levitical system. The Israelites had to have a priest to intercede for their sins. Without the Levitical priesthood and the high priest, the people could not be saved. The high priest entered into the Temple and offered once a year a blood sacrifice that involved the Ark of the Covenant and he was the only one who was authorized to do so. But Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah and only men from the tribe of Levi could be priests in the Levitical system. The corrupt Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes knew this and so they denied that Jesus Christ was both king, prophet and priest. They had the Temple records and knew that Jesus was the son of or a direct descendant of King David through Mary and His custodial father, Joseph, and they knew He was a prophet by what He said and did, but they denied He could be a priest. But God provided a priesthood after the order of Melchisedec, king of Salem and priest of the most high God, that entitled Jesus to be the Christian believers High Priest. Jesus offered His own blood as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind as He had no sin of His own, and so He is the Great High Priest of His people “forever after the order of Melchizedek.” “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man.” Hebrews 8:1-2 The verbs used by this writer in the paragraph above are in the present tense as Jesus arose from the dead and is very much alive, sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. He was, He is, and He will always be the High Priest of God and of all Christian believers everywhere.
Verse 20 above records the first time a tithe was given. The word “tithe” means a tenth or a tenth part. This was the beginning of the practice of tithing seen in churches today. Tithing will be covered later in this study, but at this time it is taught that Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all. Therefore believers often give a tenth of their income to the church.
Application: Scripture states that Jesus Christ is a Priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is the converted Christian believer’s High Priest who offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. See Hebrews chapters 5, 6, and 7 for a further understanding of this truth.
Verse 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
It was the practice back in the day for the victors to take spoils of the vanquished as payment for their military service. The king of Sodom was so grateful to Abram that he just requested Abram to give him his people and to keep the people’s stuff for himself. Read on.
Verses 22-24 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
Abram refused to take any of the stuff recovered in the military campaign. He remained humble. He was grateful to the LORD for giving him the victory and for the return of his nephew. He was already rich and did not want any payment. He refused even a shoelatchet which was most likely a sandal thong used to lace the sandal up the lower leg. His reasoning was that he wanted God to get the glory and not give the king of Sodom opportunity to claim that Abram got rich off of the war. He had the promises of God for blessings and for becoming a great nation and he believed God and chose not to trust the king. He only wanted the men who risked their lives for the people of Sodom to get payment. Nothing more and nothing less.