ROBUST FAITH: SERMONS ON ABRAHAM
IV. “A Pure Heart”
10-07-07
Ken Peterson
Gen. 14:10-24
INTRODUCTION
I have a cousin who’s husband was working at an experiment farm in Idaho. Their little girl was four or five years-old. My cousin and her daughter were out in the barn to see daddy and they found him helping a cow give birth. The cow was in great difficulty and her husband had a rope around the calf trying to pull it out with the cow bawling loudly in obvious pain. My cousin realized this was not a good time and wanted to spare her daughter, but it was too late– and, after all, this was life. Her little girl watched with wide-eyed concern and was looking like she was just ready to cry. Then suddenly, a look of sternness came over her face and she marched resolutely to the front of the cow and admonished, “It serves you right! You shouldn’t have eaten it!”
Children aren’t the only ones with “it serves you right” thinking. Often times we let ourselves off the hook, doing nothing about another’s distress thinking, “it serves them right.” And, sometimes our knowledge is as flawed as that little girl’s. When someone we know faces bad circumstances, we often make a judgment, if not spoken at least in our minds: “Their laziness, their lack of planning, their lack of discipline brought this on.” We are quick to think, “If they had just.... then this wouldn’t have happened.” At times, we may think of this as God’s judgment for some sin we’ve seen in their lives. And, maybe, way down deep inside, past all our pious denials, there is even a flicker of satisfaction at seeing them in trouble because we think they deserve it. Of course we probably say the appropriate sympathetic words.
Now, let me say up-front, there are times people need to face the consequences of their behavior. This is what is sometimes referred to as tough love. Intervention to save them is not always the most loving thing to do. On the other hand, there are times when God calls us, in love, to intervene–to help in delivering the person who is hurting. And, if this person has hurt us, this can be a major test of faith. Truly forgiving them may mean our getting involved in helping them out of what we feel they certainly deserve. That’s what Abraham models for us this morning.
This story follows closely on the heals of the one we covered last week in the division of the land between Abram and Lot. Abram and his tag-along nephew Lot have been blessed in the promised land. Their flocks and herds have grown so large, there is quarreling among their herdsmen over grass and water. So, Abram suggests they divide the land in half. Remember, God called Abram and the promise is to him. Lot is just tagging along. But, Abram gives Lot first choice. Listen to how Gen 13:10-13 expresses it:
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
Selfish, sensual Lot, ever looking out for number one wants all the best. Now, there was a fair, equitable way for this division to take place. The left and right hand division made along a north/ south meridian gave Lot all the best land. However if the division were along an east/west meridian, each would have good valley land and the hilly, rocky, more barren spine running down the middle of Israel. But, apparently, Abram let Lot even choose which way he faced when he decided right or left.
Here I’m assuming Abram is as human as the rest of us. Wouldn’t he feel taken advantage of? Wouldn’t he feel angry, even betrayed by Lot? That is what makes this next story so amazing.
There are so many confusing and difficult names in the first 9 verses of chapter 14, I’m just going to summarize that part for you. Lot has moved down in the Jordan valley. There was plenty of country there to live in, but he was drawn to the fast life of the wicked cities at the southern end of the valley, especially Sodom. In the previous chapter we are told he pitched his tent “near Sodom”(13:12). Now, we see him living in Sodom (14:12). That in itself should be a sober warning to us of the peril of not staying separate from the depravity of this world.
Sodom is one of five cities at the lower end of the Dead Sea. At this time, around 2100 B.C., a king was often over a city, not a whole country. Twelve years earlier, these five cities were conquered by Kedorlaomer, part of an alliance of four kings. Now, in the thirteenth year, these five conquered kings got together to throw off the yoke of oppression. They no longer wanted to pay tribute to those kings who had conquered them. Their rebellion did not go well. They lost in the battle when the four kings led by Kedorlaomer came to whip them back into line. Here we pick up the reading.
Gen. 14:10-24
FORGIVING
We all know what it is to struggle with our feelings when others take advantage of us. There is resentment and anger we must deal with. Most of us avoid murder, but hatred? But occasionally, we see those who have hurt us deeply get what we feel they deserve out there at another’s hand. And inwardly we feel, “Ah yes, there is some justice in this world.” Were you in Abram’s shoes here and it is reported to you that Lot had fallen victim to these conquering kings and had been taken captive, what would you have done? I’m sure I would have been strongly in the “it serves you right” camp. Not only had he taken advantage of Abram’s kind generosity, he made another very bad choice by living in sin-city, Sodom. “Okay, Lot, you made your bed, now lay in it.”
But, what is Abram’s reaction to the news of Lot’s capture? He gets together his small army of 318 trained men and goes after him. Here you get a feel of how well Abram is doing– having a staff this large of men trained to fight. This is quite a heroic effort. He chases these four kings for over 160 miles, defeats them in a nighttime ambush and returns all the people and goods that have been captured the 160 miles back to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abram is certainly modeling forgiveness here. It meshes with Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount: when someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other; when you’re forced to go one mile, volunteer for a second mile; when they sue you, give them more than they ask for; etc. (Mtt. 5:38-42). What Lot did to Abram had to feel like a blow to the gut. It is selfishness and taking advantage of the goodness of Abram to the extreme. But, to such an affront, Abram chooses to be totally unselfish, in fact risking his life and his men’s lives to save Lot. This is forgiveness in action.
Here I see demonstrated an important spiritual principle. When we receive a hurt from someone, it can be very hard to forgive and let go of it. As a pastor, through my counseling, I know it is one of the titanic struggles of our souls. Sometimes even praying about it seems useless because it causes you to dwell upon it more and stir the angry emotions. That’s why Jesus gives us something physical to do– action to take in turning the other cheek, or going the extra mile. It is doing what Jesus tells us to do regardless of feelings. And, in the doing, our souls are healed. That is what Abram is doing.
Paul says it well in Romans 12:14-21. That 21st verse is especially vivid in Phillips paraphrase:
Don’t allow yourself to be overpowered with evil.
Take the offensive– overpower evil with good.
Victor Frankl, the psychiatrist who survived a Nazi concentration camp experienced this as well. He said, if you’re forced to clean the latrines with a toothbrush, do it a second time on your own. That way you remove yourself from being a victim of evil. You seize control and take the offensive.
So, if there is someone you need to forgive or some hurt you need to let go of, you may need to actually take action against it in doing something positive toward the one that hurt you. Forget how you feel for a moment and act in accordance with what Jesus asks us to do. You’ll find your heart and mind follow along in the wake of the right action. Do what forgiveness would suggest and your feelings will begin to change.
This last week was the anniversary of that horrifying event in that little Amish school in Nickel Mines, PA. There, Charles Roberts took a school-room full of Amish girls aged six to fourteen and held them hostage before murdering five of them in cold blood and killing himself. Five other girls were seriously injured, with four making good recovery after considerable hospitalization and physical therapy. But the most seriously wounded, Rosanna, is confined to a wheelchair, unable to talk or feed herself. Yet, her parents say, she smiles a lot and seems to have good vision and hearing.
In all this, we’ve been blessed with a picture of how the Amish handle tragedy and forgive. Within hours of the shooting, several members of the Amish visited Mrs. Roberts, the killer’s wife, to express their sorrow and tell her they held nothing against her. Another Amish man visited the killer’s father and just stood there for an hour and held Mr. Roberts in his arms and said, “We forgive you.” More than $3 million has poured into the Amish community to help them. They have shared some of this with Mrs. Roberts, a mother of three. In a statement from the Amish community, they point out,
“forgiveness is a journey and you need help from your community of faith and from God to make and hold on to a decision not to become a hostage to hostility.”
They know that forgiveness is not just a feeling– it is action. And, in our actions and helping one another, we finally do overcome evil, hurt, and injustice with good– the goodness of Jesus Christ.
THE DANGER OF BLESSING
Now, after success, Abram senses a new, danger– the danger of the good life. When the king of Sodom offers him all the wealth he’d recovered, he refuses it all. Here again we see the purity of Abram’s heart in wanting only what God gave him:
"I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' (Gen 14:22-24)
We can see he has anticipated this moment and is prepared. He has bound himself with an oath to resist the temptation of all the plunder he recovered– certainly a huge economic windfall. While keeping the goods may considered fair payment for his services, Abram again is generous to the extreme. His motivation is merely salvation for Lot, not personal gain for himself.
We’ve all known people who are ruined by good fortune. Maybe they win or inherit a huge amount of money. There are some who seem to be blessed in that everything they put their hand to makes money and they become wealthy. In the midst of so much, people can become extremely materialistic, self-centered, and superficial. Many a heart has been drawn away from God by such blessings. I think more spiritual lives have been ruined by blessings than hardships.
But also, there is this. Sodom was earth’s darkest corner– an exceedingly wicked place. Abram wanted nothing to do with it. He didn’t want them to have any hold on him and he wanted no obligation to them.
Abram is impervious to these temptations because when he gets to the king of Sodom, he is a man who is overflowing with God’s blessings, for before getting there, he’s met the king and priest of Salem (Jerusalem), Melchizedek. Melchizedek is an intriguing figure. Our text says only,
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator [Possessor] of heaven and earth.
And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen 14:18-20)
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the author of Hebrews (chpt. 7) gives us some additional insight as he uses Melchizedek as a type or pre-figure of Christ. The name, Melchizedek, means “king of righteousness” and “Salem” means peace. So he is king of righteousness and king of peace– suggestive of Christ who is our perfect priest and king.
And now, we are also introduced to a new name for God– “God most high” or in the Hebrew, El Elyon. Elohim is the primary name in the Old Testament translated “God,” as in the creation account. However, through the Old Testament, we see a progressive revelation of God, giving new understandings of His nature. These are all synonyms, revealing more qualities of God. This is the first of four additional names we are given for God in the account of Abram– El Elyon, “God Most High” who is the Creator of all that is.
Melchizedek, who is a type of Christ, serves Abram bread and wine. Of course at that time it didn’t mean communion, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these exact words are recorded for us so we can make a connection with the Lord’s Supper.
And one further note, Abram tithes all the plunder to Melchizedek, priest of God Most High. Five hundred years later, the tithe (giving 10%) is incorporated into The Law given Moses on Mt. Sinai. But this hints that the practice of the tithe predates the law and was God’s plan from the beginning and has never changed.
So, here we have Abram meeting the temptations of materialism and compromise with the world well fortified. He’s met with the king of righteousness and peace. He’s been given a new revelation of God– El Elyon, “God Most High” who is over it all, the Creator or an alternate translation is “Possessor” of heaven and earth. What else can he need? Any offer from the king of Sodom is paltry in comparison. He’s been blessed by God Most High who has it all. And he has in return given a tithe of everything to God.
CONCLUSION
We use that phrase, “Jesus satisfies.” He fills the deepest needs and longings of our hearts. When we’re full of Jesus, nothing of this world has any real pull on us. The one time I have no trouble turning down an extra piece of pie is when I’m already stuffed with wonderful goodies.
Jesus fulfills everything suggested in this story for us. And, here’s the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper to fill our souls afresh. Come in faith and receive. If you’re struggling with sin and temptation– you need those appetites that Satan is using to be filled, satisfied with God. If it’s forgiveness you are struggling with, you need to be immersed afresh in Jesus’ unconditional love, mercy, and grace. Maybe you have friends taken captive by the enemy. Here is the means to arm yourself and go after them.
ROBUST FAITH – Sermons on Abraham
IV. "A Pure Heart"
For Further Study and Reflection from Sermon 10-07-07
Scripture: Gen. 14
“I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath
that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a
thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never
be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”
Do you think his reasoning was right? What kind of impression was Abram making on the evil King of Sodom?
Ken states, “I think more spiritual lives have been ruined by blessings than hardships.” Do you agree or not? Why?