Genesis 14:17-24: Directing Honor Where Honor Is Due

Genesis 14:17-24: Directing Honor Where Honor Is Due

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Genesis, and today the next passage we come to is Genesis 14:17-24. It says,

17 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. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we understand from Hebrews 4 that your Word is living and active. So may it be living and active in our lives today. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

Theologians have long debated whether there’s a sin that’s beneath all other sins. Is there what we might call a foundational or basic sin that functions as the root of all others—and, if so, what is it? Now, as you might imagine, theologians love to find things to debate. If there isn’t currently any debate about a certain subject, they’ll often find a way to start a debate. But this question of the existence of a sin beneath all others really does seem to be an important one, because if there is such a sin and if we can correctly determine what it is, that makes us aware of its presence in our lives and therefore able to turn away from that sin and experience a deeper and richer and more satisfying communion with God. 

Now, for a long time, I’ve loosely held to the theory that the sin behind all other sins is pride—that our overinflated ego is what leads us to commit all the other sins we commit. And I still think there’s a possibility that’s correct. However, I recently heard someone make a very intriguing argument that the foundational sin actually might not be pride but rather thanklessness—or a lack of gratitude. 

Now, those of us who are parents are probably especially aware of what it’s like to not be shown appropriate gratitude. Just a couple of weeks ago, one of the younger mothers in my Community Group shared the way she’s often tempted to become frustrated with her kids for their lack of gratitude. Sometimes, when they have a particularly ungrateful attitude, she just wants to grab them by the shoulders and ask them, “Do you realize how much I’m sacrificing for you to give you the life you have?” And I think all of us who are parents can identify with that frustration. Yet, what we might not be as aware of is the extent to which we ourselves can often be ungrateful to God for all of the blessings he’s given us. And, in fact, it’s this thanklessness that may very well be the sin beneath all other sins. 

For example, in Romans 1, the Apostle Paul describes the way in which humanity has rebelled against God. And he says in verse 21-23, 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. So, notice the link between honoring God as God and giving thanks to him. We might even say that to honor God as God is to give thanks to him. So, it would seem that a godlessness heart and a thankless heart are nearly synonymous. And, looking at the rest of the passage, it’s this sin of thanklessness that serves as the foundation for the idolatry described in verse 23 and the lengthy list of sins presented later in the chapter. 

Not only that, it also seems as though thanklessness was the sin that led Adam and Eve, way back in the Garden of Eden, to commit the first sinful act by disobediently eating fruit from the tree of which God had told them not to eat. They craved what was forbidden because they weren’t thankful for the countless blessings and pleasures God had already given them in the garden. God had given them an abundance of the most delightful things in the garden, but they were just focused on that one thing he had told them was off limits. 

So, I think there’s a strong case to be made for thanklessness being the sin behind all other sins. I guess you can come to your own conclusions about that. But, at the very least, I’m sure we can all agree that a lack of thankfulness or gratitude is behind many of the other sins we commit. And that’s why I appreciate our main passage here in Genesis 14 so much—because it’s in this passage that Abram exhibits thankfulness to God and directs honor where honor is due. 

Now, to remind you of the context here, in verses 1-16 of the chapter, there’s a big battle among the kings of the ancient regions of Canaan and Mesopotamia. And the text says “kings,” but really these are petty kings who are each over a single city. So, it’s not an enormous war, but it does involve an alliance of five kings fighting against an alliance of four kings. And Abram’s nephew named Lot, who’s now living in the city of Sodom, becomes caught up in this conflict and is actually captured and taken away. We then read in verses 14-16, 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. 

So, even at age 75-plus, Abram shows surprising ability in leading his men into battle under the cover of night and rescuing his nephew Lot. You know, these verses kind of feel like a Liam Neeson movie where everyone thinks he’s just this random old guy who can’t really do that much until he drops the hammer on all of them and shows them who’s boss. Similarly, it’s pretty incredible what Abram does here. 

Yet, our focus this morning will be on what Abram does in the immediate aftermath of that victory in verses 17-24. The main idea of this passage is that Abram honors God for giving him victory by tithing to Melchizedek. Again, Abram honors God for giving him victory by tithing to Melchizedek.

Now, we’ll get to Melchizedek in a moment, but notice first in the passage another character who’s quite different than Melchizedek. And that is the king of Sodom. In fact, it seems as though this passage deliberately highlights the striking contrast between Melchizedek and this king of Sodom. We’re introduced to him in verse 17, which says, “After [Abram’s] 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).” We then read, down in verses 21-24, 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” 

So Abram really gives the king of Sodom the cold shoulder and refuses to have any association with him. And I think we can safely assume that the reason for this is related to the notorious wickedness of Sodom. Back in the previous chapter, we were told in verse 13 that “the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.” So, it’s very understandable that Abram doesn’t trust the king of Sodom nor desire to have any association with him. Likewise, we also should be very careful about those with whom we associate. As Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company ruins good morals.” The NIV translates it, “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Back when I was in college, I had a ministry position on my dorm. Since it was a Christian college, each dorm had student leaders who were called “Spiritual Life Directors.” So, I was one of those and therefore had a very helpful platform for ministering to the guys on my dorm. And one of those guys was named Will. And Will was something else. He had been kicked out of a party school for being too rowdy, so apparently his dad thought it was a good idea to send him to a Christian school that had very strict rules. And, needless to say, keeping those rules turned out to be a real struggle for Will. But I was able to build a relationship with him and usually ate a meal with him every day or two at the campus dining facility. And I was sort of proud of myself for the fact that, even though Will was initially a little standoffish since he knew I was a Spiritual Life Director, we eventually turned the corner in our relationship so that we became pretty good friends. 

However, after a couple of months, I realized that, even though I was a very strong Christian and taking classes to be a pastor and things like that, Will was beginning to rub off on me a little bit. His vulgar mouth and depraved ambitions and generally godless perspective on life were really having an effect me and starting to weaken my walk with God. And that kind of surprised me—because I thought it would work the other way around. So, I eventually had to distance myself from Will. Then, a few weeks later, he got kicked out of the school, which didn’t really surprise me, so that brought a definite end to our relationship. But the whole experience taught me that 1 Corinthians 15:33 really is true, that bad company corrupts good character—even in an overwhelmingly Christian environment and even for aspiring pastors. So, be careful about the people with whom you choose to build especially close friendships. Don’t neglect building friendships with people who aren’t Christians yet—after all, that’s a key element of our evangelistic calling as Christians, we’re called to be missionaries—but at the same time, make sure that your closest friends are those who are going to help you grow closer to God, not those who will pull you away from him. 

However, returning to Genesis 14, Abram relates to Melchizedek in a way that’s strikingly different than the way he relates to the king Sodom. We read in verses 18-20, 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 

So, who is this guy Melchizedek? This is the first time he’s mentioned in the book of Genesis and actually the only time he’s mentioned. He comes onto the scene of the story but then is gone just as quickly as he came. He’s a rather mysterious figure. However, this passage does tell us a little bit about him. First, it says, he’s the king of Salem. Now, Salem wasn’t identified earlier in the chapter as one of the cities that was involved that big battle between the two alliances. So, Melchizedek is coming into the situation as something of an outsider. And, actually, it seems that Salem was none other than what would later become Jerusalem. For starters, it’s obviously right there in the name: Jeru-Salem. And it’s also confirmed by Psalm 76:2, which states, speaking of God, that “His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.” So, Melchizedek was the king of what would later come to be known as Jerusalem, a.k.a. the “Holy City,” because it would be the site of God’s temple and therefore literally the dwelling place of God. 

And not only are we told that Melchizedek’s the king of Salem, we’re also told something even more intriguing: that he’s “priest of God Most High.” Now, a priest is someone who basically functions as an intermediary between people and God. And the Old Testament Law that would later be given through Moses was actually very specific about the duties of priests. Their central function was to offer sacrifices and prayers to God on behalf of the Israelites. So God’s people in the Old Testament didn’t really have direct access to God but instead had to go through the priest as an intermediary for many things. Today, it’s kind of like the interactions between the buyer and seller of a house. Those of you who have purchased or sold a house before know that direct communication between the buyer and seller is usually discouraged. Instead, the appropriate thing to do is for all communication to be directed through real estate agents who are representing the buyer and seller. Those agents function as intermediaries between the two parties. And that’s similar to the way the priesthood functioned in the Old Testament.  

And it’s very intriguing that Melchizedek here is identified as a priest because he wasn’t a part of the official Old Testament priesthood. He’s kind of just out there on his own. He’s also identified as both priest and king—two offices that didn’t mix anywhere else in the Old Testament. So, like I said, he’s a very mysterious figure.

In addition, looking here at what Melchizedek did, it first says that he brought out bread and wine to refresh Abram as an expression of goodwill and generosity. And that’s always a great way to begin a relationship, by the way—with good food and good drinks. More traditional Baptists can substitute sparkling cider, I guess. But not only does Melchizedek bring out bread and wine to Abram, he also blesses him. He says, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” 

Then, in response to Melchizedek’s blessing, we see in the second part of verse 20 that “Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” So Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth—or, as the Bible often calls it, a tithe—of the spoils of war to Melchizedek. And that’s incredibly significant. First of all, Abram’s affirming Melchizedek as a legitimate representative of God. And, also, Abram’s expressing agreement with what Melchizedek said about God being the one who had granted Abram victory in battle. So, Abram’s directing honor where honor is due. Instead of acting as if he was victorious in battle through his own strength or by his own resources, Abram’s acknowledging that the only way he was victorious was through God and God alone. And he’s expressing gratitude to God for that victory. 

So, what about you? Have you ever truly recognized that God’s the source of every blessing in your life? If you can breathe, it’s because God’s putting breath in your lungs. If you can walk, it’s because God’s giving strength to your legs. If you have food, it’s because God’s provided that food for you. If you have a family, it’s because God’s blessed you with that family. He’s also the source of every accomplishment on your resume, every dollar in your bank account, and every possession in your house. So, let’s not think even for a moment that we’ve obtained or achieved anything apart from him. As Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” 

I heard Dave Ramsey tell a story one time about his efforts to teach his kids about money. The family had just purchased a brand-new luxury SUV, and as one of his younger children was getting into the backseat, the child said to him, “You know, dad, we’re going pretty good, aren’t we?” And Dave replied, “No, son, I’m doing pretty good, but you’re broke.” Similarly, God’s the source of every good thing we enjoy. We didn’t ultimately earn or achieve any of it—nor does any of it ultimately belong to us. Instead, we simply enjoy it because of God’s undeserved goodness and grace. And so, the only proper response to that is profound gratitude toward God. 

And notice, in Genesis 14, the specific way in which Abram expresses his gratitude toward God. He does so in a very tangible way—by giving to God a portion of the wealth God had enabled him to obtain. You see, I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but there’s actually this invisible cord running from your heart all the way down here to your wallet or your purse. If you’re truly grateful to God and truly love God in your heart, it’s going to show up in the way you use the money God’s entrusted to you. The way you spend money is actually one of the most reliable indicators there is of the condition of your heart. 

In addition, notice not only the fact that Abram gave to God a portion of the wealth but also the specific percentage of it that he gave. It says that he gave a tenth of it—or a tithe. The word “tithe” literally means “tenth.” Now, as you may know, tithing is something that the Israelites would later be commanded to do as a very important element of the Old Testament Law. They were commanded to give a tenth of their income to God. However, lest we think that tithing was something that God only intended for the nation of Israel since they were the ones who were under the Law, we also find examples in the Bible like the one who have here in Genesis 14 of Abram tithing to Melchizedek. Keep in mind Abram did this 600 years before the Old Testament Law was given. Abram wasn’t doing this as one who was under the Law. In addition, not only does Abram give a tithe to Melchizedek, the Bible also records in Genesis 28:22 how Abram’s grandson Jacob committed himself to the regular practice of tithing. And, again, that was before the Law was given. 

So, even though you and I aren’t under the Old Testament Law—since that Law was intended for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament rather than for us today—we still see that tithing is the pattern of giving that’s consistently commended in the Bible. Although tithing our income isn’t commanded in the Bible—at least, not for us—it’s still nevertheless commended. If you taking notes, feel free to write that down. Although tithing our income isn’t commanded in the Bible, it is commended. 

And, as we see with Abram, tithing is a tangible recognition that God’s the source of every good thing we enjoy. It was God who gave Abram victory in battle and God who blesses us with all we enjoy today. And tithing is also an expression of our gratitude toward God for all that he’s given to us and all that he’s done for us. 

So, for those who are Christians, let me encourage you and even challenge you to start tithing your income. Or, at the very least, take whatever the next step is toward tithing your income. For example, if you’re not giving anything, take the next step of giving something. If you’re already giving something, take the next step of giving something on a regular basis. By the way, it’s very easy to set up automated recurring giving on our church’s website. And if you’re already giving something on a regular basis, take the next step of giving a tithe on a regular basis. And if you’re already giving a tithe on a regular basis, take the next step of viewing that not as a maximum but rather as only the beginning of what generosity might look like for you. If you study generosity in the New Testament, I believe that study will actually lead you to give more than ten percent. I can tell you right now that Becky and I give considerably above a tithe and that it’s an absolute joy for us to do that. 

But, looking once again at Genesis 14, there’s still one loose end that we have to tie up. And that loose end is related to Melchizedek. As we’ve noted a couple of times, Melchizedek is a very mysterious figure. Like, how could this random Canaanite king function as a priest of God? And are we really to think that he was higher in spiritual stature than the great patriarch Abraham? I mean, Abraham received a blessing from Melchizedek and paid tithes to Melchizedek, so clearly Melchizedek is, in some sense, superior to Abraham. But how is that even possible? It just seems so unexpected. Melchizedek is certainly an enigma if there ever was one. 

Thankfully, though, there are a few other passages in the Bible that shed some light on this mysterious figure Melchizedek. There’s actually only one other passage in the Old Testament that mentions him, but it’s an important one. In Psalm 110, David writes of the coming Messiah says of him in verse 4, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Now, up to this point, there wasn’t any line of priests coming from Melchizedek. The only legitimate priesthood, according to the Old Testament Law, was the one that came from Levi. In order to be an Israelite priest under the Old Testament Law, you had to be a descendant of Levi—no exceptions. Yet, here, David speaks about One who would be “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Then, in the New Testament, the author of Hebrews picks up on this statement from David and actually references it three separate times in Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 5:10, and Hebrews 6:20. And, in these passages, the author of Hebrews makes it crystal clear that this eternal priest after the order of Melchizedek is none other than Jesus. As we’re told in Hebrews 6:20, for example, “Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Now, remember the function that a priest had. As we’ve said, priests acted as intermediaries between sinful people and a holy God. And that’s what all of us need. Because every single one of us has sinned against God and thereby alienated ourselves from God and even made ourselves deserving of God’s judgment. But Jesus functions as our high priest before God the Father. Just as Old Testament priests would offer sacrifices to atone for the sins of God’s people, at least symbolically, Jesus made atonement for our sins through his own sacrifice on the cross. He died to pay for our sins. Instead of God’s judgment coming down on us, it came down on Jesus. And that’s the way Jesus is able to be the intermediary between us and God. As 1 Timothy 2:5-6 tells us, 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all…. 

But how, you might ask, was Jesus able to be a legitimate priest—because he wasn’t descended from Levi. Well, that’s where Melchizedek comes in. Jesus didn’t have to be descended from Levi in order to function as our priest because God had already made arrangements for him to be a priest—“in the order of Melchizedek.”

And, in fact, the author of Hebrews spends almost an entire chapter—Hebrews chapter 7—explaining how the priesthood of Melchizedek isn’t just a legitimate priesthood but is actually superior to the priesthood of Levi. And the reason for that is because Melchizedek was superior to Abraham. 

After recounting the story of Abraham and Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:1-3, the author then goes on to make this point of Melchizedek being superior to Abraham very emphatically in verses 4-7. He writes, 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.

So, to sum that up, we know that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham because, number one, Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and, number two, Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. And the reason that’s important is that, if Melchizedek’s superior to Abraham, then he’s also superior to all of Abraham’s descendants, including Levi and the priestly line derived from Levi. Therefore, since Jesus is of the order of Melchizedek, he too is superior to the Levitical priesthood and actually to everything else in the Old Testament Law as well. 

So Jesus is our priest who rescues us from God’s judgment and enables us to have peace with God. We don’t have to continue in our state of alienation from God or suffer God’s judgment for our sins. Instead, we can have peace with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. Have you ever come to experience that peace? Have you ever put your trust in Jesus to do for you what you could never do for yourself and rescue you from your sins and make you right with God? As Acts 4:12 tells us, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”