Again we see Abram in a favorable light. There is no greed in his heart. He has undoubtedly acquired a lot of goods through the rescue of Lot, yet he doesn’t want to keep them for himself. That takes a lot of inner strength to be such a giver. He did give a tenth to King Melchizedek as payment. That was a traditional gesture of even some pagan religions. Abram didn’t want the recognition or have anyone say his wealth was due to someone else’s actions. Abram’s blessing and riches were from God.
Abram was humble. Abram was giving. He wanted to make sure his allies were also taken care of. If you have ever had a windfall or received a good sum of money for your work or some other reason, you know the first thing we tend to do is think, “how can I spend this?” Maybe the answer is to be faithful and give it away or save it for a rainy day. But the human inclination is to splurge a little first. Continue reading “Genesis 14:17-24 – Be a Blessing”
War broke out in the land, and I understand that rivalries among kings of the day were common. Most cities had their own kings. When a city was conquered, the victorious king was paid tribute. Lot and his household got in the way of a longstanding feud it seems, and the king in power seized him. Now Lot faced torture and surely death. Thankfully one of his men got away and had the smarts to go tell Uncle Abram.
Let’s pray. Lord, I am humbled that you are ready to rescue me when I fall. As the song says, “My whole life I place in your hands, God of mercy, humbled I bow down, in your presence, at your throne.” I imagine myself in your presence and all my fears, troubles, insecurities vanish. Thank you for the confidence, the joy, the opportunity to serve you. May my life be a blessing to you and to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
They had too much stuff to stay together so they had to come up with a solution. They were family and didn’t want their “help” to continue to bicker and fight over the land. Abram showed a lot of integrity in this agreement. Being older, he could have taken first dibs on the land. Instead, he gave Lot first choice. Abram could have been cheated in this transaction, but again, he was gracious. This gives us a good model to follow when we run into family squabbles that could divide or cause friction.
Did Abram question God when famine struck the land he was just led to by God? No. But he did take his wife, Sarai to Egypt to wait it out. I’m not sure he thought through this decision all that well. So what happened when Abram realized his wife was so beautiful that his own life would be in danger as her husband? Abram stopped trusting God at the moment, and he asked Sarai to lie about her identity. Well, it wasn’t a complete lie because she was his half-sister, but clearly his wife, too. She was not “available.”
In our last reading, we heard that Abram and his wife, along with his father and nephew, Lot had left to settle in Harran. That was just the first step. Now God is about to use Abram in a mighty way! The word Abram received from God in today’s reading must have rocked his world. Time to go again. Leave your father and all that is familiar, God said, and I will bless you. And Abram was, in turn, to be a blessing on all peoples. What do you think Abram thought? Do you think his wife, Sarai, had anything to say about it?
