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1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar. 8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. 11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. ~ Genesis 14:1-12
Today, we transition into Genesis 14 where we continue our study of Abram who in our previous passage chose to let his nephew Lot choose the land that he and his people would live in order to avoid conflict between their two families. Today's true story teaches us among many lessons, the fact that we cannot avoid conflict. As we will see, Lot made the decision as to where he and his family would live largely upon the way it looked. Lot ignored the wisdom of God when he made this decision and it invited other situations that risked Lots life and those of his family.
Most believe freedom is the ability to do what we want, when we want, whenever we want. This definition ignores the fact that we are trapped and defined mostly by sin, and, as a result, we no longer operate according to the specifications that we were created with by God. This is why when we give an inch to sin, we will be taken miles down a long, dark and destructive road which was not intended for us by God. This is the cause of most of our conflict in this world.
Today's passage has as its outline: a rebellion, a rescue, and a reward. Today, we will only consider the first part, the rebellion. With man's rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden came many sorts of evil. As in the case of today's passage, the most notable is man's ill-treatment of man.
You will remember that Lot had chosen the land east of the Dead Sea and Abraham chose the land west of the Dead Sea. Today, we will see the bad effects of Lots bad choice to live near the lush land near Sodom. Lot did not realize that he had put himself and his people in a dangerous position by making his choice. This is why it is so important to pay very close attention to God's instructions to us especially in the fine details. Often, when we ignore God in the little things, we open ourselves up to an avalanche of many bad things that desire to destroy us.
In v.1-4 of today's passage we read, "1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled."
This war was waged in the area of Siddim which is now where the Dead Sea is located. Siddim means "plowed lands." This land is today a barren wasteland and it drops down to the lowest spot on the face of the earth, 1388 feet below sea level. At the time of Abram, this land was a fertile valley and it was known for its plowed fields which yielded great amounts of luscious food.
In v.5-7 of today's passage we read, "5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar."
This first international war in the Bible involved five Shemite kings and four Hamite kings. Chedorlaomer was the leading king of the invading kings from Babylon. He was the Elamite dictator at that time, from the land east of Persia. For thirteen years the five kings from near Sodom and Gomorrah paid taxes to king Chedorlaomer but in the fourteenth year they decided not to pay the taxes anymore. So, Chedorlaomer came with these three other kings against the confederacy of the five rebellious kings. The journey of these four kings covered about 250 miles going from the north to the south. The war was initiated by the rebellion of the five kings near Sodom and Gomorrah.
Wars have happened throughout time. Most often wars are the result of people's greed and as a result people die. Down through the centuries God has allowed man to destroy each other and to exercise our free will. When we lose, we blame God. And, when we win nobody ever questions why God allowed them to do so, nor do they question why He allowed their poor enemies to die. It’s only when things go wrong that we question God. It is the weaker in the faith who question God’s ways when things go bad. The stronger our faith is in the God of the Bible, the less we will complain when tragedy strikes.
Along with war comes suffering, and pain and death. Those who desire to dismiss the God of the Bible will use these things in order to show how cruel He seemingly is or how incompetent He seemingly is because He allows such things to happen. But then they turn around and exercise their free will by doing some horrific deed that will cause anger and division in others without ever considering that God allowed them to make such a choice. And then, if God were to stop them, they’d say He was being unfair.
So, these southern kings in today's passage had paid taxes for 12 years and finally got sick of it and rebelled in the thirteenth year. When they realized this, the four kings from the north gathered together in the fourteenth year and headed to Canaan to reestablish their authority over the southern kings. On the way to their final destination, these kings attacked several cities ensuring the southern kings would not benefit from their future involvement.
In v.8-10 of today's passage we read, "8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains."
Missed in this skirmish is the hint that there is an immense reserve of oil in the land of Israel. We know this because one key indicator that oil is present is when asphalt is seen bubbling up from the ground. At the end of time, the Bible informs us that this very well could be the impetus for Gog and Magog to invade Israel which is recorded in Ezekiel 38.
A place full of asphalt pits was not the smartest place for the five kings to line up for battle. They probably went there thinking that if things went bad, they could flee to the mountains, which is exactly what happened as the battle turned against them. Unfortunately for them, some of the people fell into the tar pits as they fled.
In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed."
Sodom and Gomorrah had accumulated a lot of wealth. This is why these kings invaded it. This just underscores that for a while sin pays. The problem with sin, though, is that at some point it turns on us and we find ourselves in bondage to it. Exactly what the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had hoped to avoid by going away from the city to fight is what ended up happening. As the men of the armies fled, the people who remained in the city, and all of their goods, were taken captive. Unfortunately for the conquerors, they took Lot, Abram’s nephew. This would cost them in the end. Join us tomorrow as we continue this most intriguing of stories.
