Genesis 14
Theme: The Spiritual World
Key Text: Verse 16

            Believing and claiming the promises of God concerning his inheritance, “Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord” (13:18). The name “Hebron” means “fellowship” and suggests that he moved into a new sphere of communion with God. In this spiritual world, Abraham began to live, not according to his own decisions, but on the basis of the divine will. To say the least, true spirituality is seen in his yieldedness and obedience.

1. Spiritual Warfare
            In the first half of this chapter, we are confronted with the first recorded war in human history. It was a confederated show-down, four kings against five (14:1-9). Because a weaker brother was taken captive by the unholy coalition of the east, Abraham, spiritual man that he was,  felt he was needed in the campaign. Although he and his army were out-numbered and out-suited, they were not  out-prepared nor out-done (14:14,15). They were mighty overcomers! The weapons of their warfare were not carnal, “but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Cor. 10:4).

2. Spiritual Ways
            Abraham not only evidenced the superior strength of the spiritual world in pursuing and smiting the enemy, but also showed his advanced spiritual character by delivering Lot. Instead of saying, “That’s what he deserves!” or “That’s good enough for him!”, he recognized that his brother was “overtaken in a fault,” and being “spiritual,” he felt it was his responsibility to “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness” (Gal. 6:1). Thus, we read, “And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people” (14:16).

3. Spiritual Worship
            As the weary patriarch returned from the scene of battle, he was met in “the valley of Shaveh, which is the King’s dale” (14:17) by the celebrated Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” and “the priest of the most high God” (14:18). He shared the symbols of our Lord’s body and blood with Abraham, which must have refreshed him, and then bestowed a wondrous blessing upon him (14:18, 19). The effects of this special time were evidenced in Abraham’s giving “tithes” (14:20) and refusing to bow the knee to the wicked king of Sodom (see 14:21-24) - - definite signs that one has genuinely worshipped.

Illustration

            When a young man is called into military service, he actually leaves one world and enters another. He departs the world of old friends and begins a life of new acquaintances. He forsakes the world of the casual and enters the world of the disciplined. He leaves the world of the common and comes to the world of combat. Then, of course, the remainder of his life is affected by these changes. The Lord’s soldiers are also called into a new world, a spiritual world. In this realm, we learn an entirely different lifestyle, one which has its bearings on every facet of our lives.