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13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. ~ Genesis 14:13-16
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 14 which has as its outline: a rebellion, a rescue, and a reward. Having considered the first of these three which was the rebellion of the kings in Canaan which brought the kings from Babylon to Canaan, resulting in those invading kings taking Lot and his family away, today, we will consider the second: a rescue.
In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram."
It just so happened that one of the escapees went to Abram informing him that the kings had taken Lot. Abram was in Hebron, the place of fellowship. With him were three men who were his allies. Mamre, as we have noted before, means "richness." Eshcol means "a group," and Aner means "an exile." Taking these three names together, I see a prayer meeting here! Here, symbolically, is a group of people, living in the richness of fellowship with the God of the Bible, who have withdrawn themselves from the ordinary demands of life for a specific purpose. This is exactly what our Lord commands us do in the moment of any crisis; to pray.
Abram, the Hebrew led the meeting. The term "Hebrew" is tied directly to Abram’s great-great-great-great grandfather Eber in Genesis 10-11. Eber means "he who crossed over." It was Eber and his family who were the ones who crossed over the Euphrates away from Babel. The term "Hebrew" was used here for the first time to make the distinction between Abram and the attacking armies who came from the other side of the Euphrates River. This is the first time in the Bible that anyone was referred to as a "Hebrew." In fact, this is the only place in Scripture where Abram is called a Hebrew. A clear distinction is being made here: those who were defined by the Lord and those who were not.
The word Hebrew means "pilgrim." Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will never feel at home on this earth because we have been "born again." It is the very presence of God in our lives which reminds us that we are mere pilgrims who are only passing through this world. It is quite foolish for us to invest more in this world than in the world to come. We do not belong to this world and its ungodly system, therefore our allegiance is with the God of the Bible.
In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus."
Abram's group of three hundred and eighteen trained warriors routed the vast armies of the four kings from the area of Babylon. This small group has taught us that God's victories are never won by force of numbers. The victory does not lie in the might of weapons, of nuclear missiles, or of diplomacy, but in men and women of faith who are pilgrims and strangers here in this world, who will regularly separate themselves from the demands of life to seek the face of God concerning the evils in this world.
The number 318 is very specific and the rule of the Bible is that every name, every number, and, in fact, every word is important. The number 318 comes from the name of a person whom we will meet in Genesis 15. He was the chief servant of Abram named Eliezer, whose name means "God is my help." Since Abram had no children at that time, the next in line to inherit all he had was this servant Eliezer. When his name is turned into numbers, a science known as gematria, we end up with 318. As the chief of the servants and the heir apparent of the household, 318 fighting men were chosen from the same group within Abram’s home based on Eliezer’s name. The subtle message that we are left with is: "In this battle, God is my help." The battle is always the Lord's!
Note the careful strategy Abram employed. He divided his forces by night and they traveled the whole length of the Jordan River, coming upon the enemy considerably north of the Sea of Galilee. As was the custom with armies of that day, when the pagan invaders had withdrawn to a place they considered safe. Abram's small army surprised the enemy while they made camp reveling in celebration of their victory. It was at such a time and place that Abram and his allies found them, and during the night, they divided their forces and surrounded the drunken camp. Abram sent one part of his army one way and one the other, one group perhaps with spears and the other with swords for close combat. At a signal, they sprang upon the surprised host and there was a general rout and Lot was rescued.
Notice that Abram pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Hobah means "hidden," and therefore signifies a complete victory, even to the point of the enemy hiding himself to escape. Abram never let up. He kept on till the forces against him were demoralized. He pressed his advantage to the utmost. He did not quit fighting, he did not stop praying, but pressed on until he won a great and tremendous victory.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people."
The battle was the Lord's but He used Abram to rescue his nephew Lot from the wicked kings from Babylon. Abram did a lot to rescue Lot from these kings, but there was very little Abram could do to deliver Lot from Sodom. Sodom represented an inward choice in the heart of Lot. Lot chose to live in the godless environment of Sodom. If a child of God chooses to be defined by this world, not much can be done for him. Only Lot could take himself out of Sodom.
