If, indeed, Lot was a righteous man, who was concerned about the morals of the people of Sodom (2Peter 2:6-8), why did the Lord permit Lot to be captured in the first place? It seems that we are given a picture in the behavior of Abram and Lot, of the future struggle of the Gospel, as that pertains to grace and law. Lot was righteous and sought to legislate morality in an effort to improve life around him, while Abram remained a stranger in the land, an observer of worldly events, trusting in God for his safety in all that occurred.
No doubt, if the lives of these men were anonymously presented for our consideration in the context of our modern value system, many, if not most of us, would value Lot’s efforts over that of Abram. Why is that? Isn’t it, because the worldview of our society has so influenced our lives, that we hesitate to fully embrace the worldview of the Gospel? One’s behavior is a heart issue, not a state issue. At best the state can only keep immorality at bay. It is powerless to change or destroy it. Only the Gospel is able to change the heart. Legislation has little or no effect upon immorality.
After Abram returned from pursuing after the captives and defeating their abductors, the King of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, which is the King’s Dale[1] (Genesis 14:17). At the same time another King refreshed Abram. He is identified as Melchizedek, the King of Salem, the Priest of the Most High God (Genesis 14:18). This sudden mention of this person is quite unexpected. He isn’t revealed prior to this moment, nor does he reappear afterward in Abram’s life by this name. Who is he? The Jews identify him as Shem, but, according to Paul, he is “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life!” (Hebrews 7:3). In such a context, he couldn’t have been Shem or anyone else mentioned in scripture, such as Job or Enoch, whom modern interpreters like to infer.
Another interesting point is that Melchizedek is called the Priest of the Most High God. All the patriarchs at this time were priests, but Abram, although he served the Most High God, is never described as having this title. Moreover, Abram admitted to Melchizedek’s superiority over his own priesthood by giving him tithes of all (Genesis 14:20). Presumably, they were tithes of Abram’s own possessions, not of the booty returned to the kings of the plain, because Abram refused to take anything from the kings (Genesis 14:23), so, if a tithe is a tenth of what is one’s own, the tithe given Melchizedek couldn’t have come from the booty returned to the kings.
Finally, the text tells us that Melchizedek refreshed Abram with bread and wine (Genesis 14:18), which, interestingly enough, are the symbols of the Lord’s Supper under the New Covenant. We are also told that Melchizedek blessed Abram, calling him “Abram of the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth,” adding “And blessed be the Most High God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” (Genesis 14:19-20). I believe a point is being made here that the bread and the wine (verse-18) represent the Lord’s Table, which is defined in the fact that God “delivered (Abram’s) enemies into his hand” (verse-20). I submit that Melchizedek was a vision or an apparition, and the tithes Abram gave him was done by way of a great offering of the whole of his flocks and herds, which he offered in thanksgiving for the Table of the Lord, vis-à-vis the Lord’s provision that gave Abram victory (Genesis 14:20). Abram recognized Melchizedek (in vision), as the Angel of the Lord, who would later become Jesus, God in the flesh (John 1:14).
Sometimes folks get hung up on the symbols and forget what the symbols represent. Abram was able to partake of all things in the Garden but one (Genesis 2:16-17). Although Abram pursued the enemy to the border of Mesopotamia, he didn’t enter there. He returned, victorious, to the land that the Lord had given him. It wasn’t Abram’s intention to return to his former homeland, but to save his nephew from being taken there. This was the fruit or table, concerning which Abram had partaken (cp. Genesis 2:16-17), and the Lord blessed his efforts.
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[1] According to Josephus, Shaveh is a place in the Kidron Valley that is approximately two furlongs (approx. 1200 feet) from Jerusalem. It is the same place, where Absalom set up a memorial for himself, because he had no son (2Samuel 18:18).
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