GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 14

GRIFFIN COMMENTS—GEN 14

(Gen 14:1) 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;

Lot was hardly out of Abraham’s sight when trouble began to brew for him. Circumstances beyond his control prepared to engulf him. Had he remained with Abraham, the God of Abraham would have seen to it that circumstances could not and would not stop his progress. But he no longer had that protection, so these four kings came to war with the five kings in the area where he is living.

ALTERNATIVES(Gen_14:1)

Lot went back home

Three Hebrew Children

1Co_1:18 We are either perishing or being saved.

Maclaren: Expositions (2Pe_1:4, page 197)

Corruption is initial destruction, though of course other forms of life may come from it; destruction is complete corruption. The word means both. A man either escapes from lust and evil, or he is destroyed by it.

And the root of this rotting fungus is 'in lust,' which word, of course, is used in a much wider meaning than the fleshly sense in which we employ it in modern times. It means 'desire' of all sorts. The root of the world's corruption is my own and my brothers' unbridled and godless desires.

So there are two states—a life plunged in putridity, or a heart touched with the Divine nature. Which is it to be? It cannot be both. It must be one or the other. Which?

GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 14—PAGE 1

A man that has got the life of God, in however feeble measure, in him, will flee away from this corruption like Lot out of Sodom. And how will he flee out of it? By subduing his own desires; not by changing position, not by shirking duty, not by withdrawing himself into unwholesome isolation from men and men's ways.

The corruption is not only 'in the world,' so that you could get rid of it by getting out of the world, but it is 'in the world in lust,' so that you carry the fountain of it within yourself. The only way to escape is by no outward flight, but by casting out the unclean thing from our own souls.

Depend upon it, the measure in which a man has the love of God in him can be very fairly estimated by the extent to which he is doing this. There is a test for you Christian people.

There have been plenty of men and women in all ages of the Church, and they abound in this generation, who will make no scruple of declaring that they possess a portion of this Divine Spirit and a spark of God in their souls. Well then, I say, here is the test, bring it all to this—does that life within you cast out your own evil desires? If it does, well; if it does not, the less you say about Christ in your hearts the less likely you will be to become either a hypocrite, or a self-deceiver.

(Gen 14:2) That these 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, which is Zoar.

What these five kings could not do in their confederacy against the four kings that came down to them, Abraham did with 318 servants from his household. That is what can happen when God is on your side. Abraham defeated some of the great powers of his day and proved that he was a valiant warrior.


King of Sodom; the word king is used in the Bible for the ruler of a city or small district; and for the chief of a clan or tribe, as well as for the ruler of a nation.(FBN)

(Gen 14:3) All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

This place is the salt sea, or Dead Sea, now but it was not then. This was before the destruction of these five cities on the plain near the Dead Sea.

[which is the salt sea] afterwards so called, not at this time, for then it would not have been fit for armies to be drawn up in battle array in it; but it was so called in the times of Moses, and after this fine vale was turned into a bituminous lake, and had its name from the saltness of the waters of the lake, or from the city Melach, or city of salt, which was near it, Jos_15:62. (Gill)

(Gen 14:4) Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

This was the cause of the battle that took Lot captive who now was part of the city of Sodom. Remember he started out with the intention of pitching his tent toward Sodom, but apparently he was now part of them.

These kings evidently had fought before, because the kings of the east had subjugated these cities of the plain, but the cities had reached the place of rebellion. (McGee)

(Gen 14:5) And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

This military expedition embraced far loftier objects than the mere subjugation of the Pentapolis in the dale of


Siddim. In passing from Shinar the invaders must have marched in a northwesterly direction along the Frat, touching upon Tadmor and Damascus. (Barnes' Notes)

The initial success of these marauding kings shows how formidable their raiding party must have been. Their strategy was that of mopping up the smaller and weaker points of resistance first, and then moving to attack Sodom and Gomorrah. The weakness and incompetence of the places raided must also have been a factor of their success. (Coffman)

(Gen 14:6) And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

These people, called Horites, are now well known as Hurrians, a non-Semitic group. Their records, uncovered at Nuzu by archaeologists, have thrown much light on patriarchal customs. William F. Albright believes that these Hurrians came into prominence as early as 2400 BC, and became competitors of Hittites and Sumerians for the supremacy in culture and learning. They must have found their way to the region south of the Dead Sea quite early. They were displaced from the region of Mount Seir by Esau's descendants (Deu_2:22).(Wycliffe Bible Commentary)

(Gen 14:7) And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.

Kadesh and the Amalekites would play a large part in the wilderness journey later. Here Miriam was buried and here water came from the rock. Israel spent a lot of time here during the wilderness trek. Enmishpat means "Well of judgment" so it must have been a gathering place for those who wanted to settle disputes.


[which is Kadesh] that is, which is now called Kadesh, because there the Lord was sanctified, when the rock at that place was smitten, and waters gushed out: it was a city on the uttermost border of the land of Edom, Num_20:1. (Gill)

(Gen 14:8) And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

They had greater manpower than the kings of the north, but the battle was not to the strong and the race was not to the swift. God would determine the outcome of battle because He had a servant involved. This valley was full of asphalt pits, which later was submerged under the waters of the Dead Sea when God destroyed Sodom.

(Gen 14:9) With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

Such battles had been carried on for centuries without God’s intervention, but when one of His own was involved, even if indirectly as in this case, then He would be the deciding factor. It was not Abraham who was living here, but the nephew of Abraham, but he had come into the land with Abraham, and he was related so God allowed Abraham to come to the rescue.

(Gen 14:10) And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

It would seem that these kings would have the battle away from this area knowing the nature of these slime pits, but it could be that Chedorlaomer forced the issue knowing the pits would bog them down.


[They fell there] is not an assertion that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah perished, because the king of Sodom appears alive in Gen_14:17. The obvious meaning, therefore, is that they were disastrously defeated there. (Coffman)

(Gen 14:11) And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

Such plunder and defeat of an enemy was very likely nothing new to these kings and they must have felt confident that they had nothing to worry about now for they had defeated every king between their land and the Dead Sea. But they did know that now they would have to deal with the living God. They had dealt with their own gods I am sure and were promised victory by them before they entered the battle, but those gods are not like this one. Their rock is not like our Rock (Deu_32:31).

(Gen 14:12) And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Notice that it now said he dwelt in Sodom. He started by observing where the best-watered plains were and it appeared he was only interested in the care of his cattle, but then he pitched his tent toward Sodom, and now he was living in the city. Our attraction to the world starts with good intentions, but ends in getting more involved than we intended.

(Gen 14:13) And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

It is interesting to note that by this time Abraham was doing quite well, even after giving up the well-watered plains and taking the more rugged and less productive land. He was now confederate with the people of this territory who could be of benefit to him when he was in need.


Sometimes it is the Christian's part to stay at home; and at other times to go far hence among the heathen. Sometimes it is his duty to sit under his family oak and attend to his family exercises; and at another time, like Abraham, to choose some post of peril, and do some good deed of daring.(G. Gilfillan)

(Gen 14:14) And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

Notice these were armed and trained. They were not just a group of servants that Abraham gathered right quick but were a standing army prepared for war. It is most likely that preparation for warfare was only a temporary part of their lives and they had other responsibilities.

This city of Dan was not named after the tribe of Dan, because it was before Israel ever arrived in Canaan, and Moses who did not live to see the conquering of Canaan wrote this.

(Gen 14:15) And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

Fighting by night and by ambush seemed to be the normal way for Israel to fight. They won many battles such as this, and the one at Ai, and when the other tribes of Israel went against the tribe of Benjamin.

These incidents portray two of Abram's characteristics: (1) He had courage that came from God; facing a powerful foe, he attacked. (2) He was prepared; he had taken time to train his men for a potential conflict. We never know when we will be called upon to complete difficult tasks. Like


Abram, we should prepare for those times and take courage from God when they come. (LASB)

(Gen 14:16) And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

It is amazing that he could take all that these men had plundered from them with this few and in this short span of time. But God was with him. In that day when slavery was a common part of life, all of these captives would either have been slain or sold for slaves. The lot of the women was usually even worse than that because they were used for sexual purposes.

(Gen 14:17) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

Notice he was met by two kings, the king of Sodom and the king of Salem. He was met by two kings on the way home, and you will be too. One wants to take the souls and let you keep the property, but the other offers a communion service of bread and wine.

KINGS MET GOING HOME(Gen_14:17-24)

1. GOING HOME

Abraham had fought his battlesNow he was on the way home

2. MET BY THE KING OF SODOM

Two sharply contrasted representative kings went out to meet Abraham on his way home.

FIRST was this King of Sodom Represented all that this world offers


Prosperity and luxury Sin in its most sordid style

Wickedness of Sodom was proverbial. Their fate was a warning to those who reject the Gospel.

Mat_10:15 "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorra in the day of judgment than for that city.

2Pe_2:6-8 "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorra into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation (behavior) of the wicked; (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.)

Jud_1:7 "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities....10 but these speak evil of those things they know not; but, what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."

Rev_11:8 "And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Not 10 righteous within its walls No churches, prayer meetings, Bible SYMBOL OF HELL, and the wrath of God Burned with fire and brimstoneDeu_32:32-33 "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter; their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.


Isa_3:9 "The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Isa_13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation, neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there and satyrs shall dance there.

SYMBOL OF HELL

Luk_16:19 "The rich man also died and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off....Father Abraham, have mercy and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."

AND THAT KING CAME TO MEET ABRAHAM

3. MET BY THE KING OF SALEM

This city later became known as Jerusalem (Psa_76:2)"In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion." Psa_48:1-3, Psa_48:8, Psa_48:12-13; Psa_87:1-6

Gal_4:25-26 "Jerusalem which now is, is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."Heb_12:22 "You are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men


made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant.

So these kings represent satan and Jesus On your way home these two will come out to meet you

4. WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO OFFER?

KING OF SODOM: "Give me the souls and take the goods to yourself."

KING OF SALEM: "Brought forth bread and wine."

ABRAHAM: "I have lift up my hand (taken solemn oath) unto the Lord, the Most High God, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich."

PAID TITHES: Symbol of all he had.

Melchizedek is King of Salem His name means King of Righteousness, and he was the

king of peace (the city Salem).

ANOTHER BROUGHT FORTH BREAD AND WINE!

Mat_26:26-29 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it. For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

BREAD: Joh_6:53 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will


raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him.

Joh_6:63 It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life.

WINE (Blood):1Pe_1:18-19 "Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot."

BLESSED HIM (Spirit) Joh_7:38-39; Joh_4:14 Rom_14:17Eph_1:18 Enlightenment1Pe_1:8 Joy unspeakablePhi_4:7 Peace past understandingHeb_11:25-27 Moses

(Gen 14:18) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

Since he was a priest of the Most High God he could not be a theophany as some have believed because of what Paul said in Heb_7:3 about him. His name means king of righteousness, and the name of the city is Salem which means peace so he is a type of Christ. He fills both roles as Jesus does of king and priest.

MELCHIZEDEK: TYPE OF CHRIST(Gen_14:17)

1. He was the king of a city in Palestine called Salem, later called Jerusalem (Heb_7:1).


God has never ruled over an earthly city, either as theophany, Christophany, God, or as a man. He left the government of cities in the hands of man.

2. A priest's function is to worship God. He goes between man and God. He completes the mediatorial function. If Melchizedek was God, God was worshipping Himself for Melchizedek was a priest who worshipped God (Gen_14:20). God could not be a priest until a body was prepared Him in which He could act as priest. And in that priesthood the body prepared was to be the sacrifice. (Heb_10:5). So if Melchizedek is a mediator, you need no other.

3. If Melchizedek's priesthood is literally a continual priesthood, instead of being typical of a continual priesthood, then God has started two continual priesthoods. If there are two continual priesthoods, where is Melchizedek's priesthood today and how does it function?

4. Jesus priesthood was not Melchizedek's priesthood because:

a. His was after the similitude of Melchizedek (Heb_7:15)

b. He was another priest which means he could not be the same as Melchizedek (Heb_7:11-15)

c. He took not on Him the nature of angels (Heb_2:16). So if Melchizedek was an angel it could not have been Jesus.

You would have to admit that Jesus was a theophany appearing to Abraham here and that Jesus took on the form of a theophany.

5. Melchizedek is called a man (Heb_7:4). You could not stand on this alone, but it is substantiating evidence.


In the Old Testament a theophany was called man at times. Does the New Testament ever record one of these and still call him man?

So Heb_7:5 must be interpreted in the light of TYPOLOGY, not history.

Had these statements in Heb_7:1-3 ("without father, without mother") referred to Him as a man, it would be quite impossible to understand them. But it is not as a man he is referred to, but as priest.

In connection with the Aaronic priesthood, personal genealogy was a prerequisite so they had to keep a pedigree (Ezr_2:61-62). Melchizedek's did not regard natural descent.

Genesis does not say a word about Melchizedek's parentage and this silence was part of the type.

"Having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." Jewish Priests "began their days of priesthood at the age of 30 (Num_4:3). At the age of 50 their priestly life ended (Num_8:25). But no such restriction was placed upon the sacerdotal ministry of Melchizedek.

(Gen 14:19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

Melchizedek placed the blessing of God upon Abraham, and that is why Paul could say the less is blessed of the better. They were both priests, Melchizedek of the city of Salem, and Abraham of his family.

Evidently a group of people who knew the true Creator-God lived in Jerusalem under the king-priest Melchizedek. (Ryrie)


(Gen 14:20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Some say that Melchizedek was a theophany, but here he prayed to the Most High God, which would not be done by a theophany. He received tithes which is something a man would do, but also in receiving tithes and Jesus being after his order would say that tithes is part of the ministry today. In fact tithing was part of Aaron's priesthood as well as that of Melchizedek, which makes it appear that it is expected of any order God uses.

(Gen 14:21) And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

Now the other king showed the contrast to Melchizedek. He wanted the persons, literally, the souls and said that Abraham could keep the goods. That is just like the devil, let me have your soul and you can have all the goods you want.

This is the temptation. According to the Code of Hammurabi of that day, this man Abram had a perfect right to the booty and even to the persons. But the king of Sodom is clever; he says, "Give us the persons, and you take the booty—it's yours." That was a temptation to Abram. Forever after, when anybody would say, "That man Abram is certainly a wealthy man. God has blessed him," I think that the king of Sodom would have said, "Blessed him, my foot! God didn't bless him. I gave it to him; I'm the one who made him rich!" Abram knew that. (McGee)

(Gen 14:22) And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

Abraham would not listen to the bargain of the king of Sodom. He had already sworn before he arrived that he would not enter into such an agreement. It is good to make up your mind ahead of time that you will not have anything to do with the adversary.


If Abraham had taken all the spoil, it would only have been in accordance with the general practice of that age; but a principle, and not a custom, is his guide. (F. Hastings)

(Gen 14:23) That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

Abraham wanted no connection with Sodom, though he would rescue his nephew who had lived there and who would go back there, Abraham himself kept a distance from them. He would associate with the king of peace, but not the king of Sodom. In our modern world of covetousness, Abraham's decision seems extreme, but Abraham lived by Godly principles that would not be compromised.

(Gen 14:24) Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

The tithing he gave to Melchizedek and these things that the confederates partook of was all Abraham would claim out of this. He did not go there just to plunder the kings and take from them what they had gained. He went there in order to rescue his nephew and did not want to be enriched by this episode. Lot became part of the problem, and that is why Abraham fought these armies. He would no have fought if Lot had not been involved.


GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 14

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