The Rescue of Lot

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Introduction: Though Lot is a righteous man in his personal life (2Peter 2:7-8), he runs with the wrong crowd (Genesis 13:12-13). Abram rescues his nephew but he keeps a good distance from the king and goods of Sodom. We should do the same.

I.           THE BATTLE OF THE KINGS (v.1-12) 

A.    The Participants in the Battle (v.1-3) 

1.   The kings of the east (v.1)

a.    Amraphel of Shinar (see Genesis 10:8-10; 11:2; Daniel 1:2)

b.    Arioch of Ellasar [a kingdom in Mesopotamia]

c.    Chedorlaomer of Elam

(1)   Elam is a kingdom in Persia (Daniel 8:2)

(2)   Chedorlaomer is the leader of these kings (v.4,17)

d.    Tidal king of nations

2.   The kings of the cities of the plain (v.2; see Genesis 13:12; 19:28-29)

a.    Bera of Sodom

b.    Birsha of Gomorrah

c.    Shinab of Admah

d.    Shemeber of Zeboiim

e.    King of Bela which is Zoar (see v.8)

3.   The place of battle – the vale of Siddim

a.    Probably at the south end of the Dead Sea (“the salt sea”)

b.    Perhaps under water now; the southern portion of the Dead Sea is very shallow

c.    A place of slimepits (v.10); these were pools of natural asphalt or tar (Genesis 11:3; Exodus 2:3)

B.    The Circumstances of the Battle (v.4-9) 

1.   The rebellion of the cities of the plain (v.4)

a.    They served for twelve years

b.    They rebelled in the thirteenth year

2.   The military campaign of Chedorlaomer (v.5-7)

a.    Against the Rephaims, the Zuzims and the Emims (v.5)

(1)   People east of the Jordan

(2)   Giants (see Deuteronomy 2:10-11)

b.    The Horites in Mt. Seir (v.6)

(1)   The country of Edom (Genesis 32:3)

(2)   Later inhabited by Esau and his descendents (Genesis 36:8)

c.    The Amalekites and the Amorites (v.7)

3.   The battle in the vale of Siddim (v.8-9) 

C.    The Results of the Battle (v.10-12) 

1.   The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated (v.10)

2.   The goods of Sodom and Gomorrah were taken (v.11)

3.   Lot and his goods were taken (v.12) 

II.          ABRAM’S RAID ON THE VICTORS (v.13-16) 

A.    Abram Hears of the Defeat (v.13) 

1.   First use of the word Hebrew

2.   Confederate with Mamre the Amorite

3.   The plain of Mamre was at Hebron (Genesis 13:18) 

B.    Abram Arms his Servants (v.14) 

1.   Abram has 318 servants

2.   They are trained—evidently to fight (see Psalm 144:1) 

C.    Abram Defeats the Kings of the East (v.15) 

1.   He pursues them to Dan (v.14b)

2.   He divides his army (v.15)

3.   He attacks by night—a surprise attack

4.   He defeats them and pursues them to Hobah next to Dasmascus 

D.    Abram Recovers the Captives and Goods (v.16) 

III.         ABRAM’S MEETING WITH MELCHIZEDEK (v.17-20) 

A.    He Returns to the Valley of Shaveh (v.17) 

1.   In the king’s dale (2Samuel 18:18)

2.   North of Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley 

B.    Melchizedek Comes to Meet Him (v.18) 

1.   King of Salem

a.    Salem means peace

b.    Salem is another name for Jerusalem (Psalm 76:2)

2.   Priest of the most high God

3.   He brings bread and wine [compare the elements of the Lord’s Supper] 

C.    NOTE: Melchizedek is either a type of Christ or an Old Testament appearance of Christ. He is described in detail in Hebrews 7. When taken at face value and together as a whole, the overwhelming evidence points to Melchizedek being a pre-incarnate (before His virgin birth) appearance of Christ. 

1.   He was King of righteousness (Hebrews 7:2)

2.   He was King of peace (Hebrews 7:2)

3.   He was without mother and without father (Hebrews 7:3)

4.   He was without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life (Hebrews 7:3; Micah 5:2; Revelation 1:18)

5.   He was like the Son of God (Hebrews 7:3; compare Daniel 3:25)

6.   He had power to bless Abraham (Hebrews 7:1; Genesis 14:19)

7.   He anticipated the Lord’s Supper (Genesis 14:18)

8.   He was greater than Abraham (Hebrews 7:4,6,7)

9.   He was the priest of the most high God (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews .2:17)

10. He was a tithe-receiving priest (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:4-10)

11. He “liveth” and “abideth” a priest continually (Hebrews 7:3,8)

12. He is our Lord who sprang out of Judah (Hebrews 7:11-17) 

D.    Melchizedek Blesses Abram (v.19-20) 

1.   A blessing for Abram (v.19)

2.   A blessing for Abram’s God (v.19-20)

a.    Possessor of heaven and earth (v.19)

b.    Deliverer from his enemies (v.20)

3.   Abram gives tithes of all (v.20)

a.    First mention of tithing in the Bible

b.    Next mention is when Jacob promises to tithe (Genesis 28:22) 

IV.        ABRAM’S MEETING WITH THE KING OF SODOM (v.21-24) 

A.    The King of Sodom Offers Abram the Spoil (v.21) 

B.    Abram Refuses to Receive From the King of Sodom (v.22-23) 

C.    Abram Takes Care of his Confederates (v.24)

Conclusion: Abram makes sure that God gets the credit for his success on the battlefield. He also keeps separate from the wickedness of Sodom. With his trained and armed servants, he was prepared for battle. We can learn much from this story.

MEMORY VERSES:

1. Hebrews 7:24

2. Genesis 14:18

3. Hebrews 6:20