Wars, priests, and tithing, oh my!

At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). For 12 years, they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but they rebelled in the 13th year. In the 14th year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). They conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites and the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar — four kings against five. 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. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom. A man 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 Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 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. During the night, Abram divided his men to attack them. He routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and possessions, together with the women and the other people. 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). Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.nd praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With the raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me — to Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

We notice some things that are different about Abram in Genesis 14. For one, he is called Abram the Hebrew in verse 13. That is the first time the word “Hebrew” is used in the Bible, and it is the first time Abram is referred to in association with it. He now has many trained men with him in his household that he did not have before either. We also notice the excellent care that he has for Lot even though they have been separated for some time. When he found out that his nephew had been taken captive during this war (the first war also mentioned in the Bible), he immediately went into action. One other thing I notice in particular about Abram in Genesis 14. Whereas before, he allowed himself to be enriched from those who did not know God (the Egyptians). Now when the King of Sodom tried to bless him, Abram turns it down, saying, “With the raised hand, I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”

We will focus on Genesis 14:17–20 and the other prominent person in the chapter, Melchizedek. There isn’t a lot written about him. Nonetheless, he is still a very significant historical figure. He is called the King of Salem (which eventually became Jerusalem), who brought bread and wine after the war victory. Not only was Melchizedek the King of Salem, but he is also called the priest of God Most High. When he shows up at this time, he blesses Abram and praises God. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. I will say more about that at the end of this post. In a prophecy about Jesus, Psalm 110:4 says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” The book of Hebrews repeats this about him while recounting some of the events from Genesis 14. The book of Hebrews repeatedly draws this connection between Jesus and Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6–10; 6:20; 7).

In Hebrew, “God Most High” is “El Elyon.” Genesis 14 is the first time God uses this title. God Most High is the name of God that is connected with his sovereignty. In all, the name can be found 27 times in the NIV Bible. When you look up all the scriptures that use this name for God, we see God referred to as Heaven and Earth’s creator, which is where his sovereignty comes from. He is the God who delivers our enemies into our hands. So for all those churches who cower in fear over political correctness or what people will think of them or call them if they don’t bow the knee to particular political and social agendas, we need to keep that in mind and do the right thing. God Most High is our shield who saves the upright in heart and vindicates us. He is our rock and redeemer, God over all the earth and exalted above all false gods. He is a God of miraculous signs and wonders, sovereign over all kingdoms of the world, and Jesus is his son. All who accept Jesus become his children and servants. We genuinely have no reason to fear anything. In fact, God is the only person we are to fear by any definition.

The final thing I will focus on tonight is the verse that mentions Abram giving Melchizedek a tenth of everything. I wanted to bring this up because there is a debate in the church about whether tithing is a biblical principle that carries over from the Mosaic Law to the New Covenant. I would answer yes is because, as we just saw in Genesis 14, tithing actually predates the Mosaic Law. So if someone says that tithing is no longer expected because we are not under the law, I agree we are not under the Mosaic Law. Still, we see tithing before the Law of Moses ever came about. Jacob also vowed to God that he would give him a tenth. Jesus upheld the tithe when he rebuked the Pharisees, saying they should perform the law’s weightier matters (justice, mercy, and faithfulness) without neglecting the others, which included the tithe. So there we go. I ended this with a tithing speech. Bring on the legalism accusers! I don’t fear you (see above about fear)! LOL!