(Genesis) Genesis 14:1-4

Now, that brings us to chapter 14 of Genesis, and here in chapter 14, we find the first war and Abraham delivers Lot, and we find the first priest, Abraham, blessed by Melchizedek. These are the two great truths that are here. And in one sense, this is one of the most remarkable chapters, doesn't seem to fit in with the story at all.

You feel like it could be left out, that there's a continuity without it. But may I say again, it's one of the most important chapters that we have in the book of Genesis. And we have in this chapter a very remarkable account of two things, the first war and then this first priest, Melchizedek.

Now, let's come to the first here, because this is extremely important. It came to pass in the days of Amraphael, king of Shinar, Ariok, king of El-Lazer, Shador-Leomer, king of Elam, entitled king of nations, that these made war with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Bersheth, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Adma, and Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. That's a very good exercise, as you can see in pronunciation.

But this is a very important chapter. Now we find here that, first of all, this is a historical document. The kings of the East defeat the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.

That's what we have here in the first 11 verses. And for quite a few years, the critical, radical scholars rejected this. They said that these men do not appear in history at all, that they are not in secular history, and that this was a rather ridiculous story.

Did you know today that these men have been found on monuments, and they've been found on tablets, and that they did exist? In fact, Amraphael is the Hammurabi of secular history. And note this, because it's very important to get this before us here. This is tremendously significant that we have here.

Now we find that there was war, and this is the first war that's mentioned. So you see, mankind began early in making war. And now we find that these were joined together in the Vale of Sidim, which is the Salt Sea.

Twelve years they served Shador-le-Omer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. Now that was what brought the kings of the East, and they came against Sodom and Gomorrah. Now this is nothing in the world but a historical record, and I'm not intending to read this verse by verse here.

And you probably noticed that we've pretty much read the first part of Genesis verse by verse, and have dealt with it. That is something I wish we could do for the entire Bible, but there are times when we'll pass over sections, and we're doing that right here. Now the kings of the East, they come, and they overcome the kings that have joined together around the Dead Sea, the lower part of it.

And they're on their way to take back these as captives. Now if you have a map, and it's nice to have a map in the back of your Bible you turn to, you'll find out they almost went by Abraham's tent in order to leave the Dead Sea, go back up through the Fertile Crescent, and then go back to the land that they came from in the East. Now we're going to follow that next time because we're going to see Abraham doing a very remarkable thing as he, with a surprise attack, rescues Lot.