July 13, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Ezekiel 25-30

Weekly Memory Verse: 1 John 1:9

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Genesis 14:1-16 (NASB95)
¹ And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their Mount 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 conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. ⁸ And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom. ¹³ Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.^[1]

War broke out in the land.  Abram shows a side of himself that has remained hidden up to this point.  He was still driven by the righteousness of God and went to retrieve Lot from captivity.  But notice in verse 14, Abram had 318 trained men in his house.  That indicates that he had trained 318 of his servants to be fighting men.  We have a man who lived according to the will of God and maintained a significant fighting force.  When he joined forces with his allies, they were able to defeat the invading armies.

Another thought on this, God gave Lot a second chance.  God had allowed Lot to be taken into captivity, along with the kings of the land where he was staying.  He lost all of his earthly possessions, and was reduced to a slave overnight.  He went from riches to poverty instantly.  Abram could have said that Lot had it coming and not mustered an army to follow in pursuit.  This was the first time that Lot had lost all of his possessions. 

When we hit a bump in the road like Lot did, does it cause us to look to God?  Or do we look to our own luck and our own providence as the answer to our problem?  God offered Lot a second chance and gave Abram victory over fighting men in order to restore Lot and his wealth.  Yet we don't have any indication that Lot even recognized the Lord or acknowledged Abram's efforts.

Genesis 14:17-24 (NASB95)
¹⁷ Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; ²⁰ And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ “I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Hebrews 7:1-10 (NASB95)
¹ For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. ³ Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. ⁴ Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. ⁵ And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. ⁷ But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. ⁹ And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. ^[2]

The prophetic implications of these verses are interesting.  The writer of Hebrews referred to Jesus as a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.  We take that for granted, recognizing that Melchizedek existed before the Levitical Law.  But there is more to the story than that.  It is believed that Salem was the first name for Jerusalem.  Melchizedek means literally "king of righteousness".  The reference to Abram receiving bread and wine from Melchizedek giving us a picture of Jesus breaking bread and wine cannot be ignored.   Finally, he served the God Most High.  Jesus repeatedly stated that while He was here on earth He was not doing His own will, but the Father's will.  Melchizedek was a prophet, priest and king; Jesus also was a prophet, priest and King. (Gleaned from Willmington’s Bible Handbook.)

Luke 7:16 (NASB95)
¹⁶ Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NASB95)
¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Revelation 19:11-16 (NASB95)
¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” ^[3]

One other note of significance, once Abram recognized Melchizedek as a priest of God, he tithed ten percent of all the spoils of the war.  At this point in time, Abram had charge over all the spoils, all the captured goods that were retrieved from the enemies.  Abram made the decision for everyone that one tenth went to the representative of the Most High God, before they received their cut.  I think that this is missed by many people, they recognize that Abram gave ten percent to Melchizedek, but fail to recognize that Abram made a corporate decision to give ten percent of everyone's spoils.  We are quick to acknowledge individual efforts, but fail to recognize Abram taking control of everyone's funds.

Abram recognized that God had made the victory over the enemy possible, and everyone had to pay the ten percent.  After that, Abram's cut of the spoils of the war, or the retrieved goods were returned to their rightful owners, less the ten percent.  Abram did not get rich, his men were paid in food consumed. The rules regarding the spoils of war were acknowledged in regard to the other kings who fought with him.  He did not force the other kings to give their spoils back, but left it up to them to make their decisions regarding their share, less the ten percent. 

There are many people today that feel that tithing is optional.  They feel that God is rich enough and that they need the money more than He does.  Therefore, let others give in the church, God will provide.  That is hogwash.  The purpose behind giving the ten percent is not to support the local church that is a side benefit!  The purpose of the ten percent is to recognize that God is ultimately in control of our finances.  The purpose of the ten percent is to recognize that God is God of our lives, completely, totally, in every area, including finances.  Abram gave to a representative of God, probably literally making him rich, but that was not the point.  The point of the gift was that God had empowered Abram and his allies to have victory over some powerful enemies, and ultimately without God, the spoils would not have returned home, so the ten percent was given willingly, off the top. 

Malachi 3:8-10 (NASB95)
⁸ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. ⁹ “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! ¹⁰ “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. ^[4]

I am going to close with this verse, consider when you go to your local church the great blessings that God has given you.  Consider the way that He defeated the enemy and provided you with a great job making an income.  Then when you write the check, remember that tithing predated the Levitical law.  Yes, our local churches need money, and in some cases, the pastors of the churches live quite well.  Don't let the issues cloud your thinking, God promises that if you give, He will bless it and return it to you exceeding the amount that you gave.  This is the only place in the Bible where God says "test Me".  Look at the dark side to not tithing, according to these verses, if we do not recognize God by returning to Him the ten percent, He will curse us with a curse, the money that we should have tithed will turn into a curse to us.  In my opinion, the local body of believers, or local church is God's spiritual authority over us, therefore my tithes go to my local church. Offerings are different, they are beyond the tithe and go where God leads.  (I praise God that I am not standing in a pulpit now!  Can you imagine the talk about how I preached for money!) 

Father, as we consider Your word today, I pray that each of us will consider the way that You have delivered us from our trouble, and that we will all be faithful to You with our tithes and offerings.

In Him,

Joe Turner.