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.
17. the king of Sodom ] See note on Gen 14:10. The writer evidently assumes that this is the same king who had fallen in “the slime pits”; for only the king who had lost property and wealth, but saved his life, could suggest to Abram that the latter should keep the booty.
from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer ] Lit. “from the smiting of.” We need not suppose that Chedorlaomer and his vassal kings were personally involved in the overthrow.
the vale of Shaveh ( the same is the King’s Vale)] “The King’s Vale” is mentioned in 2Sa 18:18 as the site of the monument raised by Absalom, and was supposed in the days of Josephus to be two “stadia” from Jerusalem ( Ant. vii. 10, 3). The word Shaveh means “a plain,” cf. Gen 14:5.
The meeting of the king of Sodom with Abram is here strangely interrupted by the story of the appearance of Melchizedek, and is resumed at Gen 14:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 14:17
Return from the slaughter
I.
THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN. Abram returning from the subjugation of the kings, accompanied with Lot, whom he had rescued, and laden with spoils of war.
1. The aged chieftain, Abram, 83 years of age; hale, vigorous, victorious. Not always that mans return from the late enterprises of life is triumphant.
2. His retainers. His 318 servants (some, perhaps, left behind). How proud would these be of their leader.
3. Lot. Grateful that he had been rescued from captivity.
4. Other rescued captives. Their joy and thankfulness.
5. The first recorded war ended in the triumph of right.
6. The victory secured by a servant of God with limited resources. Prophetic of the greater war in which the great Seed of Abraham rescued, from a more cruel bondage, a greater number, who come off more than conquerors through Him who loved them.
7. His welcome home. The king of Sodom goes forth to meet him. The joy of those who have friends and property restored.
II. THE HIGH PRIESTS BLESSING.
1. The approbation of the holy, the most valuable of all human praise. The praise of some is humiliating to the receiver. Woe be unto you when all men speak well of you. To please God, and hear His well done, the best end to seek.
2. Melchizedek, a priest of God, would approve success less than character.
3. He was hospitable, and provided refreshment for weary men. A good mans obligation to one who, for others, had fought a battle in the right. His sympathy with the emancipated. His respect for the deliverer.
4. He was faithful; and reminded Abram of the most high God, who possessed all things. Men, in their successes especially, have often need to be reminded of this; and that it is God who giveth the victory.
5. Such a reminder may do a thoughtless man good, and can do a good man no harm. Abram humbly received the reminder.
III. THE DIVISION OF THE SPOIL. Many would have fought over it, and, if so well able as Abram, would have kept all they could.
1. He gave one-tenth of all to God. Did homage thus to Divine claims and principles in the person of Melchizedek.
2. Declined to take anything as his own share. Would not have it ever said that any man had made him rich. Though none could have said it justly.
3. Would not impose his rule upon others. Stipulated for the right of other men. Had the power to dictate, but left them to their own free choice. Would not have them coerced by his example, but claimed a portion for them. LEARN–
I. To love peace, and only enter upon righteous conflicts.
II. So to fight lifes battle as to return victorious and with honest satisfaction.
III. Cheerfully to recognize the successes of others.
IV. To be more anxious about the right and true than about the profit.
V. To rejoice in the Captain of our salvation, who has conquered for us, and who has rescued us from present captivity and future death. (J. C. Gray.)
Lessons
1. Conquerors usually want not observance and congratulations from the world.
2. The powers of the earth are sometimes forced to acknowledge the prowess of Gods saints.
3. Humanity persuades men to the acknowledgment of God to any, whom God makes helpful to them.
4. The killing of the slayer, and breaking the yoke of the oppressor is cause of congratulation to the oppressed.
5. Nature will not be slow to meet and congratulate its deliverers.
6. Deliverance may make men go far to acknowledge Gods servants, who before would scarce vouchsafe to go out of doors for them. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. The king of Sodom went out to meet him] This could not have been Bera, mentioned Ge 14:2, for it seems pretty evident, from Ge 14:10, that both he and Birsha, king of Gomorrah, were slain at the bitumen-pits in the vale of Siddim; but another person in the meantime might have succeeded to the government.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So called either upon this occasion of the meeting of divers kings here; or because king Melchizedek either had his habitation, or was much delighted with it, and conversant in it. See 2Sa 18:18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him,…. While Abram was in pursuit of the four kings, the king of Sodom came down from the mountain whither he and those that escaped with him fled, and came to Sodom: and from hence he went out, not alone, but accompanied with his retinue, to meet Abram:
after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that [were] with him; to congratulate him upon the victory he had obtained over them; and this meeting was
at the valley of Shaveh; a most plain and even valley, as the word signifies, clear of trees and everything that obstructs sight or passage, as Jarchi observes, and so a proper place to have an interview in:
which [is] the king’s dale; some say King Melchizedek’s, but one should rather think it was the king of Sodom’s; the Targum of Jonathan calls it the place of the king’s exercise, where he had his diversions in riding, walking, c. it can hardly be that in 2Sa 18:18 though some are of this opinion, being near to Jerusalem, which they suppose to be the same with Salem in Ge 14:18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As Abram returned with the booty which he had taken from the enemy, the king of Sodom (of course, the successor to the one who fell in the battle) and Melchizedek, king of Salem, came to meet him to congratulate him on his victory; the former probably also with the intention of asking for the prisoners who had been rescued. They met him in “ the valley of Shaveh, which is (what was afterwards called) the King’s dale.” This valley, in which Absalom erected a monument for himself (2Sa 18:18), was, according to Josephus, two stadia from Jerusalem, probably by the brook Kidron therefore, although Absalom’s pillar, which tradition places there, was of the Grecian style rather than the early Hebrew. The name King’s dale was given to it undoubtedly with reference to the event referred to here, which points to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. For the Salem of Melchizedek cannot have been the Salem near to which John baptized (Joh 3:23), or Aenon, which was eight Roman miles south of Scythopolis, as a march of about forty hours for the purpose of meeting Abraham, if not romantic, would, at least be at variance with the text of Scripture, where the kings are said to have gone out to Abram after his return. It must be Jerusalem, therefore, which is called by the old name Salem in Psa 76:2, out of which the name Jerusalem (founding of peace, or possession of peace) was formed by the addition of the prefix = “founding,” or “possession.” Melchizedek brings bread and wine from Salem “to supply the exhausted warriors with food and drink, but more especially as a mark of gratitude to Abram, who had conquered for them peace, freedom, and prosperity” ( Delitzsch). This gratitude he expresses, as a priest of the supreme God, in the words, “ Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, the founder of heaven and earth; and blessed be God, the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.” The form of the blessing is poetical, two parallel members with words peculiar to poetry, for , and . – without the article is a proper name for the supreme God, the God over all (cf. Exo 18:11), who is pointed out as the only true God by the additional clause, “founder of the heaven and the earth.” On the construction of with , vid., Gen 31:15; Exo 12:16, and Ges. 143, 2. , founder and possessor: combines the meanings of and . This priestly reception Abram reciprocated by giving him the tenth of all, i.e., of the whole of the booty taken from the enemy. Giving the tenth was a practical acknowledgment of the divine priesthood of Melchizedek; for the tenth was, according to the general custom, the offering presented to the Deity. Abram also acknowledged the God of Melchizedek as the true God; for when the king of Sodom asked for his people only, and would have left the rest of the booty to Abram, he lifted up his hand as a solemn oath “ to Jehovah, the Most High God, the founder of heaven and earth, ” – acknowledging himself as the servant of this God by calling Him by the name Jehovah, – and swore that he would not take “ from a thread to a shoe-string, ” i.e., the smallest or most worthless thing belonging to the king of Sodom, that he might not be able to say, he had made Abram rich. , as the sign of an oath, is negative, and in an earnest address is repeated before the verb. “ Except ( , lit., not to me, nothing for me) only what the young men (Abram’s men) have eaten, and the portion of my allies…let them take their portion: ” i.e., his followers should receive what had been consumed as their share, and the allies should have the remainder of the booty.
Of the property belonging to the king of Sodom, which he had taken from the enemy, Abram would not keep the smallest part, because he would not have anything in common with Sodom. On the other hand, he accepted from Salem’s priest and king, Melchizedek, not only bread and wine for the invigoration of the exhausted warriors, but a priestly blessing also, and gave him in return the tenth of all his booty, as a sign that he acknowledged this king as a priest of the living God, and submitted to his royal priesthood. In this self-subordination of Abram to Melchizedek there was the practical prediction of a royal priesthood which is higher than the priesthood entrusted to Abram’s descendants, the sons of Levi, and foreshadowed in the noble form of Melchizedek, who blessed as king and priest the patriarch whom God had called to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. The name of this royal priest is full of meaning: Melchizedek, i.e., King of Righteousness. Even though, judging from Jos 10:1, Jos 10:3, where a much later king is called Adonizedek, i.e., Lord of Righteousness, this name may have been a standing title of the ancient kings of Salem, it no doubt originated with a king who ruled his people in righteousness, and was perfectly appropriate in the case of the Melchizedek mentioned here. There is no less significance in the name of the seat of his government, Salem, the peaceful or peace, since it shows that the capital of its kings was a citadel of peace, not only as a natural stronghold, but through the righteousness of its sovereign; for which reason David chose it as the seat of royalty in Israel; and Moriah, which formed part of it, was pointed out to Abraham by Jehovah as the place of sacrifice for the kingdom of God which was afterwards to be established. And, lastly, there was something very significant in the appearance in the midst of the degenerate tribes of Canaan of this king of righteousness, and priest of the true God of heaven and earth, without any account of his descent, or of the beginning and end of his life; so that he stands forth in the Scriptures, “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.” Although it by no means follows from this, however, that Melchizedek was a celestial being (the Logos, or an angel), or one of the primeval patriarchs (Enoch or Shem), as Church fathers, Rabbins, and others have conjectured, and we can see in him nothing more than one, perhaps the last, of the witnesses and confessors of the early revelation of God, coming out into the light of history from the dark night of heathenism; yet this appearance does point to a priesthood of universal significance, and to a higher order of things, which existed at the commencement of the world, and is one day to be restored again. In all these respects, the noble form of this king of Salem and priest of the Most High God was a type of the God-King and eternal High Priest Jesus Christ; a thought which is expanded in Heb 7 on the basis of this account, and of the divine utterance revealed to David in the Spirit, that the King of Zion sitting at the right hand of Jehovah should be a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Psa 110:4).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Abram’s Interview with Melchizedek. | B. C. 1913. |
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. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
This paragraph begins with the mention of the respect which the king of Sodom paid to Abram at his return from the slaughter of the kings; but, before a particular account is given of this, the story of Melchizedek is briefly related, concerning whom observe,
I. Who he was. He was king of Salem and priest of the most high God; and other glorious things are said of him, Heb. vii. 1, c. 1. The rabbin, and most of our rabbinical writers, conclude that Melchizedek was Shem the son of Noah, who was king and priest to those that descended from him, according to the patriarchal model. But this is not at all probable for why should his name be changed? And how came he to settle in Canaan? 2. Many Christian writers have thought that this was an appearance of the Son of God himself, our Lord Jesus, known to Abram, at this time, by this name, as, afterwards, Hagar called him by another name, ch. xvi. 13. He appeared to him as a righteous king, owning a righteous cause, and giving peace. It is difficult to imagine that any mere man should be said to be without father, without mother, and without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, Heb. vii. 3. It is witnessed of Melchizedek that he liveth, and that he abideth a priest continually (Heb 7:3; Heb 7:8); nay (Heb 7:13; Heb 7:14), the apostle makes him of whom these things are spoken to be our Lord who sprang out of Judah. It is likewise difficult to think that any mere man should, at this time, be greater than Abram in the things of God, that Christ should be a priest after the order of any mere man, and that any human priesthood should so far excel that of Aaron as it is certain that Melchizedek’s did. 3. The most commonly received opinion is that Melchizedek was a Canaanitish prince, that reigned in Salem, and kept up the true religion there; but, if so, why his name should occur here only in all the story of Abram, and why Abram should have altars of his own and not attend the altars of his neighbour Melchizedek who was greater than he, seem unaccountable. Mr. Gregory of Oxford tells us that the Arabic Catena, which he builds much upon the authority of, gives this account of Melchizedek, That he was the son of Heraclim, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, and that his mother’s name was Salathiel, the daughter of Gomer, the son of Japheth, the son of Noah.
II. What he did. 1. He brought forth bread and wine, for the refreshment of Abram and his soldiers, and in congratulation of their victory. This he did as a king, teaching us to do good and to communicate, and to be given to hospitality, according to our ability; and representing the spiritual provisions of strength and comfort which Christ has laid up for us in the covenant of grace for our refreshment, when we are wearied with our spiritual conflicts. 2. As priest of the most high God, he blessed Abram, which we may suppose a greater refreshment to Abram than his bread and wine were. Thus God, having raised up his Son Jesus, has sent him to bless us, as one having authority; and those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. Christ went to heaven when he was blessing his disciples (Luke xxiv. 51); for this is what he ever lives to do.
III. What he said, Gen 14:19; Gen 14:20. Two things were said by him:– 1. He blessed Abram from God: Blessed be Abram, blessed of the most high God, v. 19. Observe the titles he here gives to God, which are very glorious. (1.) The most high God, which bespeaks his absolute perfections in himself and his sovereign dominion over all the creatures; he is King of kings. Note, It will greatly help both our faith and our reverence in prayer to eye God as the most high God, and to call him so. (2.) Possessor of heaven and earth, that is, rightful owner, and sovereign Lord, of all the creatures, because he made them. This bespeaks him a great God, and greatly to be praised (Ps. xxiv. 1), and those a happy people who have an interest in his favour and love. 2. He blessed God for Abram (v. 20): and blessed be the most high God. Note, (1.) In all our prayers, we must praise God, and join hallelujahs with all our hosannahs. These are the spiritual sacrifices we must offer up daily, and upon particular occasions. (2.) God, as the most high God, must have the glory of all our victories, Exo 17:15; 1Sa 7:10; 1Sa 7:12; Jdg 5:1; Jdg 5:2; 2Ch 20:21. In them he shows himself higher than our enemies (Exod. xviii. 11), and higher than we; for without him we could do nothing. (3.) We ought to give thanks for others’ mercies as for our own, triumphing with those that triumph. (4.) Jesus Christ, our great high priest, is the Mediator both of our prayers and praises, and not only offers up ours, but his own for us. See Luke x. 21.
IV. What was done to him: Abram gave him tithes of all, that is, of the spoils, Heb. vii. 4. This may be looked upon, 1. As a gratuity presented to Melchizedek, by way of return for his tokens of respect. Note, Those that receive kindness should show kindness. Gratitude is one of nature’s laws. 2. As an offering vowed and dedicated to the most high God, and therefore put into the hands of Melchizedek his priest. Note, (1.) When we have received some signal mercy from God, it is very fit that we should express our thankfulness by some special act of pious charity. God must always have his dues out of our substance, especially when, by any particular providence, he has either preserved or increased it to us. (2.) That the tenth of our increase is a very fit proportion to be set apart for the honour of God and the service of his sanctuary. (3.) That Jesus Christ, our great Melchizedek, is to have homage done him, and to be humbly acknowledged by every one of us as our king and priest; and not only the tithe of all, but all we have, must be surrendered and given up to him.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 17-24:
Sodom’s new king came to meet Abram on his victorious return. This meeting took place at the “Valley of Shaveh,” a short distance north of Jerusalem. Another king also came to meet Abram: Melchizedec, the king of Salem (Jerusalem). Melchizedec, “king of righteousness,” is not a title but a proper name. Salem, “peace,” is the ancient name of Jerusalem, see Ps 76:2.
Melchizedek is a man of mystery. He is mentioned in only two other Books of the Bible: Ps 110:4, and Hebrews (chapters 5, 6 and 7). He was both a king and a priest “of the most High God,” EL-Elion, a proper name or Supreme Deity. This is the same God whom Abram worshipped, and Abram recognized him as a legitimate and true priest, by receiving a benediction from him (bread and water), and by paying tithes to God through him. See Heb 7:1-10 for the significance of this.
The king of Sodom offered Abram all the spoils he had taken in the battle. He reserved for himself only the people. Abram refused to take for himself any of the spoils, lest any should attribute his wealth to the godless king of Sodom. He would take only enough to compensate his allies, and to replace what his own men had eaten.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
17. And the king of Sodom went out. Although the king of Sodom knew that Abram had taken arms only on account of his nephew, yet he went to meet him with due honor, in order to show his gratitude. For it is a natural duty to acknowledge benefits conferred upon us, even when not intentionally rendered, but only from unexpected circumstances and occasions, or (as we say) by accident. Moreover, the whole affair yields greater glory to God, because the victory of Abram was celebrated in this manner. He also marks the place where the king of Sodom met Abram, namely, “the king’s dale,” which I think was so called, rather after some particular king, than because those kings met there for their pleasure. (361)
(361) “ Quan quod animi causa reges illuc convenirent.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 14:17. Valley of Shaveh] Shaveh means valley or dale. Nothing is known of its situation.
Gen. 14:18. Melchizedek, King of Righteousness] The Jews identify him with Shem. Thus the Targum of Jonathan: But Melchizedek he is Shem, the son of Noah, king of Jerusalem. Also the Jerusalem Targum: But Melchizedek, king of Jerusalam, he is Shem, who was the great priest of the Most High. This statement is manifestly absurd, for the genealogy of Shem is clearly given in the Scriptures. The priesthood of Shem would not be of a different order from Levis, whereas in Heb. 7:6, the contrary is asserted. His person, his office, his relation to Christ, and the seat of his sovereignty, have given rise to innumerable discussions, which even now can scarcely be considered as settled. (Bullock, Bible Dict.) Everything combines to show that Melchizedek was a Canaanitish king who had retained the worship of the true God, and combined in his own person the offices of king and priest. (Alford.)King of Salem] King of peace. (Heb. 7:2.) It is doubtful whether this refers to the place afterwards called Jerusalem. Most probably Salem is to be understood in its strict sense as part of the title.Most High God] Heb. El Elyon. This name of God occurs here for the first time. El signifies strength. Hence we perceive that the unity, the omnipotence, and the absolute pre-eminence of God were still living in the memory and conscience of a section at least of the inhabitants of this land. (Murphy)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 14:17-20
THE TRUE PRIEST FOR MANKIND
There is in man such a deep consciousness of sin that he feels he is not fit to appear before God. He needs some one who shall be his mediator and representative, and who offers up that sacrifice for sin which turns away wrath and restores the forfeited favour of God. Hence the necessity for a priest. The idea of a priesthood is universal, and no improvement of human society can ever supersede it; for the fact must still remain that, by nature, there is a deep gulf between mans soul and God. This office has often been abused to serve the purposes of tyranny and oppression, and to retard the civil and intellectual progress of mankind. Still, with all the abuses which have degraded it, the office stands. Wherever men go they seek, in some form or other, the aid of the priest. To this need of the human heart the Providence of God has given an answer. In the verses before us we have the true ideal of a priest such as man requires and God approves. What must be the qualifications of such?
I. The true priest is divinely appointed. Melchizedek was priest of the Most High God. This implies1 That he was called of God. As it is the prerogative of God, in His dealings with His creatures, to take the first step of approach and to state His own terms, so no one can become a mediator in such a matter unless God appoints him to that office. As the purpose of mercy belongs to God, so He must choose the means of its conveyance to mankind. No man, therefore, can take this office upon himself. Unless he receives the Divine call he is an impostor and profane.
2. That he was separated from the rest of mankind. The true priest must be holy by vocation; and one of the essential parts of holiness is separation from all that is evil. By some lustration, or white robe, or other external sign, he must be distinguished from the profane crowd, and possess, at least, symbolic purity. Melchizedek has stood apart from all mankind, as reflecting the awful holiness of his God. Men require the mediation of some one who stands nearer to God than themselves. Holiness is the raiment wherewith God clothes His priests.
II. The true priest is one with the race he represents. This priest of the Most High God was not an angelic being, but of the same flesh and blood as the rest of mankind. The true priest must be taken from among men. There is a deep conviction in the heart of humanity that deliverance can only come through some one selected from among themselves. He alone who partakes of our nature can have a real fellow-feeling with us, and know how to have compassion upon our infirmity. He who represents the human race, and is a mediator with God on their account, must himself be one of that race. Humanity is a necessary element in a Redeemer. We can only be saved through a Divine man; for he touches God at one extremity and ourselves at the other, and brings us together. From this we learn
1. The dignity of human nature. There must be something in human nature which makes it capable of representing what is Divine, or else the Incarnation would have been impossible. The great preparations for human redemption imply that man has a sublime value, and can be rendered capable of partaking of the Divine nature. We learn also
2. The destiny of human nature. If man and God can be brought together through the agency of a mediator, then that reconciliation with God must have the tendency to draw man continually God-wards, and thus his soul is made to enter upon the upward path. When God pardons sin He is removing the barrier between the sinner and Himself, so that the objects of His mercy may be fitted to dwell with Him and see His glory.
III. The true priest has the power to bless. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth (Gen. 14:19). This was a sacerdotal act, and he who administered it was, in regard to his office, superior to him on whom it was bestowed. The less is blessed of the better (Heb. 7:7). Thus it is the office of the true priest
1. To pronounce blessings on men. He is not the origin of blessing, but only declares authoritatively what God offers and bestows. He does not make the fact of Gods pardon and peace, but announces it as an ambassador who has authority to act for his sovereign.
2. To bless God on their behalf. When man receives a benefit, God should be praised. We must not selfishly rest in the enjoyment of His goodness so as to forget the glory due to His name. The priest who stretches forth his hands to bless men, also lifts his eyes towards heaven to bless God on their behalf.
3. To declare Gods benefits towards men. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine (Gen. 14:18). These are the standing elements of the bodys sustenance and refreshment. Bread is the staff of life, and wine maketh glad the heart of man. These were brought forth by this priest of the Most High God, in order to serve the lower use of the refreshment of the body. Such was the first intention of this act; but there was a second and more important one which can hardly escape our notice. These gifts of God, so essential to the life of the body, signified spiritual blessingsthe souls necessary food. Melchizedek was, therefore, the minister of holy symbols; which, while they visibly represented blessings not discerned by sense, were, at the same time, the means of the conveyance of those blessings to the soul. The pure and good gifts of God in the natural world shadow forth those of the spiritual. Both the visible and invisible worlds come from one Creator, and correspond to each other as type and antitype. Hence the use of symbolical worship and teaching. Our Blessed Lord took hold of these emblems of bread and wine, constituting them a holy ordinance for the remembrance of His death and passion, and effectual means of grace to the soul. In partaking of this bread and wine, Abraham was enjoying a spiritual repast which strengthened and refreshed the inner man. All the ministries and symbols of religion are but means to an end, and that end is the sanctification of our nature. Spiritual good is the only abiding reality; all else is representative and shadowy. The priests are of no value who lead us only to what is outward and visible, and who do not offer real blessings and urge us forwards to their attainment.
IV. The true priest is a mediator between God and men. He is the appointed medium of bringing together man and God upon terms which the Divine mercy has approved. Thus the true priest is the channel of blessings which flow in opposite directionsfrom God to man, and from man to God.
1. He receives gifts from God for men. Gifts of pardon, peace, reconciliationthe tokens of Gods favour. There can be no religion unless God imparts something to men. If heaven is but a wall of brass then the prayers and aspirations of mankind are of no avail. He can be no true priest who has not something to offer from God to men.
2. He receives gifts from men for God. We cannot, strictly speaking, add anything to Gods riches or His glory by our works or gifts. As we have nothing but what we have received from His bounty, so we can really give Him nothing that was not previously His own. But God is pleased to receive our thanks and praisesour easiest recompense. He receives offerings of mans worldly substance which testify of the gratitude of his heart and soul. Thus Melchizedek took gifts from Abram that he might offer them to God. And he gave him tithes of all. Such was Abrams response to the priestly benediction. The offering of tithes is an acknowledgment on the part of man that all belongs to God. The king-priest received them from the patriarch that he might offer them to God, who has a right to all that man possesses, and to his entire service. In presenting the tenth of all the spoils of victory, Abram makes a practical acknowledgment of the absolute and exclusive supremacy of the God whom Melchizedek worshipped, and of the authority and validity of the priesthood which he exercised. We have here all the indications of a stated order of sacred rites, in which a costly service, with a fixed official, is maintained at a public expense, according to a definite rate of contribution (Murphy). Religion demands that man shall give some token of his allegiance to God, and man is appointed to receive such in His name. The ministry of man to men, on behalf of God, belongs to the nature of the Churchs work on earth. But the full idea was not realised until God was manifest in the flesh. Then had we a Mediator, who was compassionate because He was human, and strong because He was Divine. Other mediators had been commissioned to convey spiritual blessings to mankind, but Christ alone brought salvation with Him and bestowed it from Himself.
MELCHIZEDEK A TYPE OF CHRIST
We have inspired authority for regarding this priest of the Most High God as a type of our blessed Lord. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives this application to the prophecy of the Psalmist, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Psa. 110:4; Heb. 5:6; Heb. 6:20). The history of the meeting of the patriarch with this remarkable man must be read by the light which Christ throws back upon it. Abraham rejoiced to see the day of the Son of Man, and to Him, in the person of Melchizedek, he did homage and received blessing. Christ was present to the minds of both. He was truly in their midst, making the blessing effectual, and the gifts truly an offering to God. Let us see how Melchizedek was fitted to be a type of Christ.
I. He was a royal priest. The priesthood of Aarons house and of the Levitical order were all purely and simply priests. They had no regal state or function. Melchizedek combined in his person the offices and powers both of priest and king. In this regard he was not a partial, but a complete representative and type of the Messiah, who is described by the prophet as a priest upon His throne (Zec. 6:13), and who reigns over a kingdom of righteousness and peace (Psalms 72) Either character by itself could not be an exact and complete type of Christ, who holds the double office. Our souls need His priesthood for expiation, and His kingship, that they may preserve that righteousness which belongs to His kingdom.
II. His genealogy is mysterious. As a priest Melchizedek has no pedigree. He is not a single unit in the order of succession, for he has none going before or coming after him in the priestly office. His function and state are not transmitted to others, but remain attached to himself. Hence that strange description of him in the Epistle to the Hebrews:Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually. Both ends of the life of this remarkable man are shrouded in mystery, and he is therefore a fitting type of the Son of God, whose manifestation in our flesh must of necessity be mysterious. Who shall declare His generation? for, in reference to His human nature He had no father, and in reference to His Divine nature He had no mother. In this respect Our Lord stands alone among all the sons of men, and Melchizedek, whose origin and end are purposely made obscure, is chosen herein to be His type.
III. He was perpetually a priest. Melchizedek in his own person was mortal and shared the common lot of mankind; but that type of priesthood which he represented was perpetual. As it began before, so it lasted throughout the whole of the Jewish history. The Jewish priesthood had beginning of days and end of life, but that of Melchizedek continued in Christ for ever. To that eternal priesthood the honour of God was committed, it shared the unchangeableness of His nature; but the priesthood of Aarons line was, as it were, parenthetical in the Divine plan, to endure only while such a temporary provision was necessary. The greater light was to swallow up the lesser, and to continue a joy for ever to the Church of God. Melchizedek was the type of those real attributes of our Lords priesthood which in their very nature are eternal.
IV. He was an universal priest. The Jewish priesthood was limited to their own nation and people. Strangers in race and blood were neither permitted to sustain that office nor to enjoy the most important benefits which it conferred. The range of it was narrow and confined, scarcely at all affecting the great mass of mankind outside. But Melchizedek was the priest of humanity at large, and was therefore an exact type of Christ, who was the all-sufficient priest for mankind of every age and nation.
V. He was a priest of the highest type. As compared with the priesthood of Aaron that of Melchizedek was superior
1. In time. It belonged to an earlier age, and therefore had the prescription of antiquity in its favour. Such was the priesthood of Our Lord: though late as to the supreme moment in which it became a fact, it had been fashioned early in the counsels of God. This priest, as well as His offering, had been from the foundations of the world. It was also superior
2. In dignity. Levi virtually acknowledged a priesthood higher than his own, when he paid tithes to Melchizedek and received his blessing.
3. Superior in duration. Unlike the Levitical, his priesthood was not designed to serve a temporary purpose. It belonged to an order of things which endures, not through one short stage but through the whole of human history. Christ is a priest for ever. His office and the virtues of it last as as long as sinful man needs forgiveness.
VI. His priesthood has the highest confirmation. It was confirmed by the Divine oathby an appeal to two immutable thingsthe Divine word and the Divine nature. The Levitical priesthood was not introduced or confirmed by such a solemnity, because it formed no part of the eternal plan of God. It could not sustain the full honour of that glorious Name which meant much more for man than the most fitly chosen types and ceremonies could signify. God will only give the highest confirmation to that priest who brings grace and truthwho gives to men the reality instead of the shadow, and reveals the fulness and beauty of the Divine love.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 14:17. Abram is now congratulated upon his success. His faith obtained a good report.
Abram has now won the praise of the worldthe result of those works by which his faith was made perfect (Jas. 2:22). This was a new trial to his faith, but the strength of his religious character was shown in his superiority to all worldly aims and possessions.
There are events in history which force the world to acknowledge the servants of God.
This expedition of Abram and his friends excited great attention among the Canaanites. At the very time when all must have been given up for lost, they are, without any effort of their own, recovered, and the spoilers spoiled. The little victorious band, now returning in peace, are hailed by everyone that meets them. The kings of the different cities go forth to congratulate them, and thank them as the deliverers of their country. If Abram had been of the disposition of those marauders whom he had defeated, he would have followed up his victory, and made himself master of the whole country, which he might probably have done with ease in their present enfeebled and scattered condition. But thus did not Abram, because of the fear of God.(Fuller).
Gen. 14:18. Melchizedekthe first priest on record.
The typology connected with Melchizedek does not require that he himself should be regarded as any superhuman person, but merely exalts the human circumstances under which he appears into symbols of superhuman things. Everything combines to show that Melchizedek was a Canaanitish king who had retained the worship of the true God, and combined in his own person the offices of king and priest. It is to be observed that there is not used regarding him, nor does he use, the title of Jehovah, but that of the HIGH GOD, a title found also in the question addressed (Mic. 6:6) by the Moabitish king, Balak, to his prophet Balaam; but that Abram in answering the King of Sodom probably in his presence, affirms the identity of his covenant-God, Jehovah, with the High God, possessor of heaven and earth, of whom Melchizedek had spoken.(Alford).
Melchizedek was not only a type of Christ, but also represented the genius of the Christian religion. His priesthood was not limited to one nation or country, but was universal. Such is the Christian Church, which offers a home to all people.
The universal element in religion is the permanent. Judaism, which was but a temporary provision, has passed away, but that order of things which Melchizedek represented will stand till the end of time.
Some of the highest examples of the knowledge of the eternal verities of religion, and of faith in God, have been furnished by the heathen worldMelchizedek, Job, the Centurion, the Syro-Phnician woman, Cornelius.
Bread and Wine. These are significant as the staple elements of refreshment for the body. Bread is the acknowledged staff of life, and hence was presented in the holy place of the Tabernacle as the shew-bread, or bread of the Presence. So it was presented at the Pentecostthe loaves representing the fruit of the Gospel work, and significant of the harvest and ingathering of the people. And so the wine was poured out as a libation at the daily sacrifice as a drink-offering (Exo. 29:40), also at the presentation of the first-fruits (Lev. 23:13), and other offerings (Num. 15:5). And from this Old Testament ordinance it passed to the Lords Supper by Divine institution, and its significance in the latter was explained as symbolical of the blood-shedding of Christ for sinners, and the participation of it as an element of the Gospel feast becomes joyous to the Christian soul. They had a meaning, therefore, in the hands of Melchizedek, and in this sacred, official transaction. Abram is thus welcomed to a share in the sacred sacramental ceremonial, and witnessed to as having a right to that ancient communion of saints. This solitary priest hails him as one whom he recognises and rejoices inas the head of the faithful, and the triumphant friend of God.(Jacobus).
This feast was significant of the life, strength, and joy which the Gospel would bring to the world. Thus there was represented to Abram what a blessing he would be to all nations.
Melchizedek refreshed the warriors after the battle, and Christ ordained His Last Supper to refresh the weary soldiers of the Cross.
Bread and wine are common things, familiar to the eye, the touch, and taste of men. The Great Teacher takes them out of the hands of man as emblems of grace, mercy, and peace, through an accepted ransom, of the lowliest as well as the loftiest boon of an everlasting salvation, and they have never lost their significance or appropriateness.(Murphy).
The Most High God. This is a name of God here first found in the Scripture. El, signifying strength, is the base of the name Elohimthe original, absolute name of God, by which He is known in the history of the Creation, and appropriate to His creatorship. This is the evidence that the one God was worshipped, as a testimony against polytheism and idolatry, as the Living God, omnipotent and supreme. And this was done formally, publicly, and statedly by a set ministry, and in such form of worship as acknowledged the need of the great blood-shedding for atonement, and of the great high priesthood to come.(Jacobus.)
Gen. 14:19. God has ordained that all blessings shall come to men through His own Priest. Melchizedek was the type, but Christ was the reality.
The Christian religion has only one Priest, who is now in heaven, and who is the only fount of blessing for man-kind.
Melchizedek blessed Abram. He therefore acts in a priestly capacity. This sacerdotal act of his is that which is so significant, as interpreted by the New Testament:For the less is blessed of the better (Heb. 7:7). And Abram, in receiving the blessing, admits the superiority of this king priest. The friend of God, the covenant-head and father of the faithful, has victory granted him over kings, and is thus a type of every true Christian and of the Church of Christ on the earth, while he expresses his faith and religious reverence and obedience by paying tithes to the accredited functionary of Gods worship. The key to this mystery is, that both these personages were types of Christ; and their meeting here is a significant confluence of the streams of prophecy and promise, rushing onward to the destined consummation.(Jacobus).
Melchizedek, in pronouncing this blessing, was only setting his seal to that which was already a fact in Abrams spiritual life. The patriarch already belonged to the Most High God, was His servant, His child, His friend. Thus the human instrument only declares the blessing, but does not make it.
The Most High God is here designated as the Founder of heaven and earth, the Great Architect or Builder, and, therefore, Possessor of all things. There is here no indistinct allusion to the creation of heaven and earth mentioned in the opening of the Book of God. This is a manifest identification of the God of Melchizedek with the one Creator and Upholder of all things. We have here no mere local or national deity with limited power and province, but the sole and supreme God of the universe and of man.(Murphy).
All blessings become assured to us by the fact that they are the gift of Him who made the heavens and the earth. No other Being can confer any lasting good.
God, who possesses all things, had the right to dispose of them as it seemed good unto Him. He could give the land to Abram and to his seed.
God is the Proprietor of all things. We hold all blessings by His bounty and as His stewards.
Gen. 14:20. Blessings received by man must be followed by thanksgiving to God. God blesses us, and we bless Him.
The second part of this benedictory prayer is a thanksgiving to the common God of Melchizedek and Abram for the victory which had been vouchsafed to the latter. Thy foes. Here Abram is personally addressed. Melchizedek as a priest first appeals to God on behalf of Abram, and then addresses Abram on behalf of God. He thus performs the part of a mediator.(Murphy).
This Royal Priest in blessing God manifested
1. His piety and devotion. He looks away from the good which has been bestowed, to the fountainhead of all blessing.
2. His appreciation of the true source of all victorious effort on the part of Gods people. Instead of praising Abrams valour and skill, he praises the God of Abram who gave the victory.
Here is the first conflict of the children of faith with the world-power, and the victory vouchsafed to the former points to their final triumph. Those who are on the side of God must prevail in the end. There is no other really strong power.
And he gave him a tithe of all. This is a very significant act. In presenting the tenth of all the spoils of victory, Abram makes a practical acknowledgment of the absolute and exclusive supremacy of the God whom Melchizedek worshipped, and of the authority and validity of the priesthood which he exercised. We have here all the indications of a stated order of sacred rites, in which costly service, with a fixed official, is maintained at the public expense, according to a definite rate of contribution. The gift in the present case is the tenth of the spoils of war. This act of Abram, though recorded last, may have taken place at the commencement of the interview. At all events, it renders it extremely probable that a sacrifice had been offered to God, through the intervention of Melchizedek, before he brought forth the bread and wine of the accepted feast.(Murphy).
Christ, as the true Priest, still demands the consecration of our worldly substance to His service.
Christ, our Mediator, not only receives gifts from God to convey them to men, but also receives gifts from men to present them to God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Battle and Blessing! Gen. 14:1-24.
(1) Numerous as are the mountains of Switzerland, one stands out singular and unique. It belongs to Switzerland, and bears signs of resemblance to the other hills and valleys of the country; yet it has its own peculiar individuality. Who does not recognise the special prominence of Mont Blanc?
(2) The rocky mountains of the far West are a magnificent range, evidencing their continuous and successive resemblance one with the other. Yet there is a spur, so singular and unique in its formation and contour, that for a moment the traveller almost fancies it is out of place.
(3) This chapter has the air and aspect of an episode in history. It stands out singular and unique. As Candlish says, The warlike character which Abram assumes is a solitary exception to the usual tenor of his life; while his subsequent interview with the royal priest is altogether peculiar.
(4) A plant grows in Eastern jungles which sheds a clear light when all beside is dark. To midnight travellers amid Himalayan hills it seems as if it were a lamp to guide them on their wanderings. And the appearance of Melchizedek is just such a plant-lamp, pointing to Him who is a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.
On the truth thus dimly shadowed
Later days a lustre shed,
When the Great High Priest eternal
Offers us both wine and bread.
Abrams Authority! Gen. 14:17-24.
(1) In early days, when the white man first appeared amid the vast pinewoods and hunting grounds of the Red Indians, some of these red children of the wild were possessed of the conviction that the new-comers would by-and-by be owners of the soil. No doubt this was largely due to the consciousness of their keen Indian perceptive powers that the white foreigners from over the water were in many respects superior to them in intelligence and resource. But there was also a premonition, the origin of which was doubtless due to supernatural influence, that the white man was to possess the Indians land. Hence some of these Indians became the fast friends of the early settlers.
(2) In the time of Abram certain of the Canaanite leaders were impressed with the conviction that this pilgrim-pastor would be the future lord of Palestine. Apparently Abimelech and Hamor had some such presentiment, that Canaanite ascendancy would give way before the Abrahamic posterity. Under supernatural conviction of a similar character the King of Salem comes forth to greet the deliverer of Lot on his return from the pursuit and overthrow of the four kings.
Stay, pilgrim warrior, on thy road,
Refresh thy strength awhile;
Here is the banquet of thy God
To soothe thy warfare-toil.
Return Home! Gen. 14:17.
(1) Ships, which have been parted by night, and the swift stroke of the tempest, come hurrying back at morning to their anchorage. What anxious inquiries follow as to the perils of the past night! What mutual felicitations ensue as they discover that all are safe in spite of the storm!
(2) The meeting between Lot and Abram, the princes of Sodom, and their rescued warriors, must have been full of agitation and excitement. When their hosts were defeated, and Lots family carried off, there was little prospect, humanly speaking, of a happy reunion. Now they are safe home again.
(3) Christians are scattered and carried off by the marauding bands of death; but the Captain of our Salvation delivers them from the power of the grave. They shall meet again in the Kings Dale at Salem, for Jerusalem which is above is free. What mutual congratulations and recognitions will then ensue! How all will unite in praising their Deliverer; in whom
Majesty, combined with meekness,
Righteousness and peace unite,
To insure those blessed conquests,
His possession and full right;
Ride triumphant,
Decked in robes of purest light.
Melchizedek and Salem! Gen. 14:18.
(1) Stanley refers to the Jerome tradition that Salem was not Jerusalem, but a smaller town not far from the scene of the interior in the Kings Dale. He appears for a moment, and then vanishes from our view altogether. It is this which wraps him round in that mysterious obscurity which has rendered his name the symbol of all such sudden, abrupt apparitionsthe interruptions or dislocations of the ordinary succession of cause and effect and matter of fact in the varied stages of the history of the Church.
(2) Candlish says that whether this Salem was the city which afterwards became Jerusalem, or some other place near the Vale of Siddim and the River Jordan, does not appear. Nor, indeed, is it the precise locality, but the name, which is important. It was the King of Righteousness and Peace whom Abram acknowledged in the very height of his own triumph, when he accepted Melchizedeks hospitality of bread and wine.
When the patriarch was returning,
Crowned with triumph from the fray,
Him the peaceful King of Salem,
Came to meet upon his way.
Melchizedek Meeting! Gen. 14:18-20.
(1) Stanley says that the meeting of the ancient chiefs of Canaan and the founder of the chosen-people in the Kings Dale, personifies to us the meeting between what, in later times, has been called Natural and Revealed Religion. He adds that Abrams receiving the blessing from Melchizedek, and tendering to him reverent homage, is a likeness of the recognition which true historical faith will always humbly receive and gratefully render when it comes in contact with Natural Religion.
(2) Law says that in Melchizedek we have a figure, not of Natural Religion, but of Christ the Messiah. He is the true Melchizedek, without beginning of days or end of years. Abram, the weary warrior, typifies the soldiers of Christ, for whom refreshment is provided by their Royal Priest of Salem, which is peace. The fight of faith is fierce, the journey of life ofttimes long, but our true Melchizedek comes forth with the solid sustenance of the Word, with the overflowing cup of promise, with the spiritual food of His own body and blood.
Good soldier of the Cross, well done!
Press forward more and more;
And still forgetting things behind,
Reach forth to things before.Maguire.
Shaveh-Shadows! Gen. 14:18, etc.
(1). The faith of Jonathan burning bright and pure in his father Sauls corrupt court is a lovely sight. In the interview between Jonathan and David, we have, as it were, the noble warrior handing the torch of royal trust to the son of Jesse. This was done in faith, I know that God will establish thee king.
(2). Melchizedek seems thus to come forth and meet Abram in the Kings Dale. By his heroism of faith, Abram has shown his readiness to enter upon the rights and trusts of Canaan: and Melchizedek, as the preserver of the old primitive patriarchal hope, comes to surrender the charge to Abram.
(3). It is as if the torch was here visibly handed over from the last of the former band to the first of that which is to succeed. The interview between the two is the connecting link between the two dispensationsthe one of which is waxing old, and the other of which is just beginning to appear.
(4). It is like aged Simeon embracing in his arms the infant Saviour; the last patriarch and prophet of the law not departing till he sees and hails the new-born hope of the Gospel arising on the world with healing in His wings.
(5). It is the lingering twilight of declining day in the Northern climes mingling with the dawn of a better morn. Both Melchizedek and Abram understood it thus. As debtors to the same grace, they realise that their actions now are shadows of good things to come. Both see Christ in all, and in the eye of their faith Christ is all in all.
Though the altar has crumbled, and incense has ceased,
True worship still rises, through JESUS our PRIEST.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(17) The slaughter.Heb., the smiting, that is, the defeat of Chedorlaomer.
The valley of Shaven.That is, the valley of the plain (see on Gen. 14:5). It was the place where Absalom erected his pillar (2Sa. 18:18), and lay on the northern side of Jerusalem, probably where the Kedron valley widens out. Its other name, the kings dale, may have been given it from this meeting of the kings of Salem and Sodom with the victorious Abram; but Onkelos, with far greater probability, considers that it was so called because upon this level ground the kings of Judah in subsequent times assembled and exercised their forces.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
ABRAM AND MELCHIZEDEK, Gen 14:17-20.
17. The king of Sodom Hence it appears that this king survived the defeat, probably by flight to the hills . Gen 14:10 does not necessarily mean that the kings there named were killed . Some expositors, however, so understand it, and suppose that the king here mentioned was successor to the one who fell in battle .
Valley of Shaveh According to Gesenius and Furst, Shaveh means plain or valley . This valley was afterwards known as the king’s dale, probably from the occurrences here recorded . We find the name again in 2Sa 18:18, and old tradition identifies it with the valley of the Kedron . In the absence of any thing more definitely known, and in view of the probability that Salem was the ancient name of Jerusalem, we do well to adhere to the traditional location of Shaveh . Abram returning southward from the source of the Jordan may well have passed through the Kedron valley; and there would have been a suitable place both for the king of Sodom to meet him, and for the king of Salem to bring forth refreshments .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Melchizedek, King of Salem Gen 14:17-20 describes Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Note the insight on Melchizedek in the book of Hebrews.
Heb 7:1-4, “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.”
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.
Gen 14:17
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:18
Psa 76:2, “In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.”
Heb 7:1-2, “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.”
Gen 14:19 Comments – The bread and the wine will be identified in the New Testament with holy communion. Perhaps we can say that Melchizedek and Abraham partook of the first communion. Certainly, there was an important meaning in this meal that they took together.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:19
Heb 7:7, “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.”
Gen 13:2, “And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.”
Gen 22:17, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”
Eph 3:20, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
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.
Gen 14:20
In the early period of Abraham’s presence in the land of Canaan, the Scriptures mention four occasions in which he build an altar in which to worship God and call upon His name (Gen 12:7-8; Gen 13:4; Gen 13:18). It is worth noting that after giving the tithe to Melchizedek, no record is mentioned of Abraham building another altar except to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah (Gen 22:1-19). Perhaps Abraham began to worship the Lord through the tithe rather than the sacrifice upon an altar.
Gen 14:21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Abraham’s Return
v. 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. v. 18. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most high God. v. 19. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth;
v. 20. and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And he gave him tithes of all. v. 21. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. v. 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, v. 23. 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 Abram rich; v. 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. EXPOSITION
Gen 14:17
And the king of SodomBera, or his successor (vide Gen 14:10)went out to meet him (i.e. Abram) after his return from the slaughter (perhaps too forcible an expression for mere defeat) of Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him (the entire clause from “after” is parenthetical), at the valley of Shaveh. A valley about two stadia north of Jerusalem (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ 8.10), supposed to be the valley of the Upper Kedron, where Absalom’s pillar was after. wards erected (2Sa 18:10); which may be correct if the Salem afterwards mentioned was Jerusalem (vide infra); but if it was not, then the exact site of Shaveh must be left undetermined. Which is the king’s dale. Or valley (emek); so styled because suitable for kingly sports or military exercises (Onkelos); because of its beauty (Poole); because Melchisedeck had his camp and palace there (Malvenda); or most likely because of the interview between him and Abram which there occurred (Keil, Lange), with which agrees the rendering , (LXX.).
Gen 14:18
And Melchisedeck. “King of righteousness” (Heb 7:2); an indication that the Canaanitish language was Shemitie, having been probably ‘adopted from the original Shemite inhabitants of the country. Not a titular designation, like Augustus, Pharaoh, or Malek-ol-adel (rexjustus) of the Mohammedan kings (Cajetan), but the name of a person; neither an angel (Origen), nor the Holy Ghost (Hieracas), nor some great Divine power (the Melchisedecians), all of which interpretations are baseless conjectures; nor Christ (Ambrose), which is contrary to Heb 6:20; Norghem (Targums, Lyre, Willet, Luther, Ainsworth), which Heb 7:3 sufficiently negatives; but most probably a Canaanitish prince by whom the true faith was retained amid the gloom of surrounding heathenism (Josephus, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Calvin, A Lapide, Delitzsch, Keil, Rosenmller, Candlish, Bush), though it has been suggested that “the enlightenment of the king of Salem was but a ray of the sun of Abram’s faith” (Kalisch), an opinion difficult to harmonize with Heb 7:4. King of Salem = “king of peace (Heb 7:1). The capital of Melchisedeck was either Jerusalem, of which the ancient name was Salem, as in Psa 76:2 (Josephus, Onkelos, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Knobel, Delitzsch, Keil, Kalisch, Murphy, Bush); or a city on the other side Jordan en route from Damascus to Sodom (Ewald); or, though less likely, as being too remote from Sodom and the king’s dale, Salem in the tribe of Ephraim, a city near Scythopolis, where the ruins of Melchisedeck’s palace were said to exist (Jerome), and near to which John baptized (Bochart). Brought forth bread and wine. As a refreshment to the patriarch and his soldiers (Josephus, Calvin, Clarke, Rosenmller), which, however, was the less necessary since the spoils of the conquered foe were in possession of Abram and his men (Kalisch); hence mainly as a symbol, not of his transference of the soil of Canaan to the patriarch, bread and wine being the chief productions of the ground (Lightfoot), or of his gratitude to Abram, who had recovered for the land peace, freedom, and prosperity (Delitzsch), or of the institution of the Supper by the Lord Jesus Christ (Bush); but of the priestly benediction which followed and of the spiritual refreshment which it conferred upon the soul of Abram (Kalisch, Murphy). The Romish idea, that the act of Melchisedeck was sacrificial, is precluded by the statement that he brought forth the bread and wine before the people, and not before God. And he was the priest. Cohen; one who undertakes another’s cause, hence one who acts as mediator between God and man, though the primary signification of the root is doubtful and disputed. The necessity for this office has its ground in the sinfulness of man, which disqualifies him for direct intercourse with a holy Being (cf. Kurtz, ‘Sacrificial Worship,’ ch. 1. b.). The occurrence of this term, here mentioned for the flint time, implies the existence of a regularly-constituted form of worship by means of priests and sacrifice. Hence the Mosaic cultus afterwards instituted may only have been a resuscitation and further development of what had existed from the beginning. Of the most high God. Literally, El-Elion, a proper name for the Supreme Deity (occurring only here, in the narrative of Abram’s interview with the kings); of which the first term, El, from the same root as Elohim (Gen 1:1, q.v.), signifies the Strong One, and is seldom applied to God without some qualifying attribute or cognomen, as El-Shaddai, or El, the God of Israel; and the second, ‘Elion (occurring frequently afterwards, as in Num 24:16; Deu 32:18; Ps 7:18; Psa 9:2), describes God as the High, the Highest, the Exalted, the Supreme, and is sometimes used in conjunction with Jehovah (Psalm. 7:18), and with Elohim (Psa 57:3), while sometimes it stands alone (Psa 21:8). Most probably the designation here describes the name under which the Supreme Deity was worshipped by Melchisedeck and the king of Sodom, whom Abram recognizes as followers of the true God by identifying, as in Verse 22, El-Elion with Jehovah.
Gen 14:19
And he blessed him (in which act appears his distinctively sacerdotal character), and said (the form of the benediction is poetical, consisting of two parallel stanzas), Blessed be Abramso Isaac blessed Jacob (Gen 27:27), and Jacob Joseph (Gen 48:15), conveying in each case a Divine bone-dictionof the most high God after a passive verb indicating the efficient causepossessorso Onkelos and Calvin; but koneh, from kanah, to erect, set up, hence found or create, means founder and creator (Gesenius), combines the meanings of and (Keil), contains no indistinct allusion to the doctrine of Gen 1:1 (Murphy), and is rendered (LXX.) and qui creavit (Vulgate)of heaven and earth.
Gen 14:20
And blessed be the most high God (cf. Gen 9:1-29 :56), who hath deliveredmiggen, a word peculiar to poetrynathan (cf. Pro 4:9; Hos 11:8)thine enemiestsarecha, also a poetical expression‘oyeb (cf. Deu 32:27; Job 16:9; Psa 81:15)into thy hand. And henot Melchisedeck (Jewish interpreters), but Abram (Josephus, LXX; Jonathan, Heb 7:6)gave him (not Abram, but Melchisedeck) tithes “tenths.” These, being the customary offering to the Deity, were an acknowledgment of the Divine priesthood of Melchisedeck. The practice of paying tithes, primarily a voluntary tax for the servants of the sanctuary, appears to have obtained among different nations from the remotest antiquity (vide Dr. Ginsburg in ‘Kitto’s Cyclopedia,’ art. Tithes). The tithal law was afterwards incorporated among the Mosaic statutes (Le Gen 27:30-33; Num 18:1-32 :51-32)of allthe spoils which he had taken (Heb 7:4.)
Gen 14:21
And the king of Sodom (who, though first coming, appears to have retired in favor of the greater personage, Melchisedeck, and to have witnessed the interview between him and Abram, but who now, on its termination, advancessaid unto Abram,perhaps anticipating that like donations from the spoils might be made to him as to Melchisedeck, in which case he evinced a remarkable degree of generosityGive me the personsliterally, the souls, i.e. those of my people whom you have recovered (cf. Gen 12:5, in which the term is employed to describe domestic slaves)and take the goods to thyself (which, Michaelis observes, he was justly entitled to do by right of conquest).
Gen 14:22
And Abram said unto the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine handa common form of swearing (Deu 32:40; Eze 20:5,Eze 20:6; Dan 12:7; Rev 10:5, Rev 10:6; cf. Virg; ‘AEn.,’ 12.195)unto the Lord (Jehovah; which, occurring in the present document, proves the antiquity of its use as a designation of the Deity), the most high God,El-Elion; thus identifying Jehovah with the God of Melchisedeck, and perhaps of the king of Sodom (vide supra)the possessor of heaven and earth.
Gen 14:23
That I will not takeliterally, if (sc. I shall take); an abbreviation for “May God do so to me, if !” (cf. 1Sa 3:17; 2Sa 3:35). The particle has the force of a negative in adjurationfrom a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take any thing (literally, and if I shall take anything) that is thine,literally, of all that (sc. belongs) to theelest thou shouldest say (literally, and thou shalt not say), I have made Abram rich. Though not averse to accept presents from heathen monarchs (Gen 12:16), the patriarch could not consent to share in the wealth of the impious Sodomites; in this a striking contrast to Lot.
Gen 14:24
Save, compounded of , not, and , untonot unto; a particle of deprecation, meaning, “nothing shall come unto me” (cf. Gen 41:16)only that which the young men, a primitive word (cf. Sanscrit, nara, man; nari, nari, woman; Zend; naere; Greek, ), applied to a new-born child (Exo 2:1-25 :26; 1Sa 4:21), a youth of about twenty (Gen 34:19; Gen 41:15), a servant, like (Gen 37:2; 2Ki 5:1-27 :50), a common soldier (1Ki 20:15, 1Ki 20:17, 1Ki 20:19; 2Ki 19:6)have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mature; let them take their portion.
IV. THE SKILFUL TACTICS; proclaiming the same doctrine as Christthat his people should be wise as serpents; revealing the necessity for the Church making use Of the most brilliant abilities she can command on all her different fields of action.
V. THE SPLENDID VICTORY; a foreshadowing of the final triumph which awaits the Church, and of the blessing which, through its instrumentality, will eventually descend upon the world.W.
HOMILETICS
Gen 14:17-24
Visited by kings.
I. THE KING OF SALEM.
1. His exalted person. Neither a supramundane being, an angel, the Holy Ghost, or Christ; nor one of the early patriarchs, such as Enoch or Shem; but a Canaanitish (Shemite?) prince, whose capital was Salem (Jerusalem), and who united in his person the double function of priest and monarch of his people; probably the last official representative of the primitive religion, who here advances to meet and welcome the new faith in the person of Abram, as at a later period John Baptist recognized and saluted Christ.
2. His twofold designation. Melchisedeck, king of Salem, i.e. king of righteousness and king of peace (Heb 7:2); descriptive of
(1) Personal excellence. Pious in spirit and peace-loving in disposition, he was not only fitted to be a type of the Meek and Holy One, but admirably qualified to be a governor of men and a minister of religion. Happy the land whose throne is filled by purity and love, and the Church whose teachers illustrate by their lives the religion they profess!
(2) Regal sway. Righteous in principle, as a consequence his kingly rule was peaceful in administration; thus again constituting him an eminent foreshadowing of the righteous King and Prince of peace, as well as an instructive pattern and guide to earth’s rulers. When righteousness and peace occupy the throne they seldom fail to reign throughout the land.
(3) Priestly work. The specific function of his sacerdotal office being to make peace between God and sinful men, probably by means of sacrifice, and thus to cover with righteousness as with a garment those who were exposed to condemnation, he a third time symbolized the great King-Priest of the New Testament Church; while at the same time he seemed to proclaim this important truth, that they who labor in the priest’s office should diligently strive for the salvation of souls.
3. His mysterious appearance. Of unknown parentage, of unrecorded genealogy, of unchronicled existence, the unique personality of this grand old king-priest flashes meteor-like across the path of the conquering patriarch, emerging from the gloom of historical obscurity, and almost instantaneously vanishing into inscrutable seclusion. Spirit-taught writers of later times discerned in this ancient figure, so enigmatical and mysterious, a Divinely-appointed type of the ever-living High Priest, “the Son who is consecrated for evermore.”
4. His regal hospitality. Whatever additional significance attached to the banquet on the plain of Shaveh, it was clearly designed as a refreshment for the victorious patriarch and his wearied soldiers. So should earthly monarchs gratefully and sumptuously reward those who at the risk of their lives maintain the cause and vindicate the rights of the oppressed within their borders. So does heaven’s King provide for his toiling followers.
5. His priestly benediction.
(1) The blessing conferred on Abram was not simply the expression of a wish, but the actual conveyance by Divine authority of the good which it proclaimed; and so is Christ invested with supreme power to bless and save.
(2) The ascription of praise to God was a sincere declaration of the patriarch’s gratitude for the heavenly succor vouchsafed in connection with his military expedition; and so should God’s redeemed ones, whom he has delivered out of the hands of the enemy, cherish a lively recollection of Divine mercies, and offer heartfelt thanksgivings through the one Mediator.
6. His public recognition. In presence of the king of Sodom and his people, his confederates and their forces, as well as of his own domestics, the patriarch delivered into the hands of Melchisedeck a tenth part of the spoils. Designed as a solemn act of worship to Jehovah, it was both an acknowledgment of the claim which God’s minister had upon his countenance and support, and a symbol of the service,the voluntary devotement of a liberal portion of their substance,which should by all saints be yielded to him who has been constituted a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck.
II. THE KING OF SODOM.
1. His courteous behavior. Displayed in retiring before Melchisedeck’s advance, and deferring the prosecution of his suit till the termination of the king-priest’s interview with the patriarch, it may be regarded as suggesting
(1) the politeness which in all ranks of society, but especially in intelligent and educated circles, should regulate the intercourse of man with man;
(2) the deference which should be paid, by even kings and those in authority, to the ministers of religion;
(3) the homage which, though unwillingly, the world sometimes is obliged to render to the Church; and
(4) the preference which should ever be assigned to heaven’s business over that of earth.
2. His generous proposal. Made to Abram, this evinced
(1) Lively gratitude towards the patriarch for his distinguished services. Persons of known profligacy of character and life at times discover sparks of true nobility which proclaim them not entirely lost; and not infrequently individuals not professing to be pious outshine the followers of Christ in acts of self-renunciation, and in thankful acknowledgment of benefits (Luk 17:17).
(2) Peaceful disposition in himself, which, while it might have claimed the entire spoil, and perhaps vindicated the justness of such claim by an appeal to arms, was forward to avoid strife by asking only the persons. Even the world may occasionally instruct the Church how to follow peace with all men.
(3) Remarkable discernment as to the respective values of men and things, being prepared to forego the goods and chattels if only the persons were restored to his dominion.
3. His rejected liberality. Generous as from the king of Sodom’s standpoint the proposal was, it was repudiated by the patriarch
(1) In absolute entirety, without the reservation of so much as a thread or shoe-latchet; another proof of the wholly unworldly character of the patriarch, another instance of self-sacrificing magnanimity, of a piece with his surrender of the land to Lot.
(2) With shuddering apprehension, lest his fair name should be contaminated by participation in the wealth of Sodom. So should God’s people not let their good be evil spoken of, and in particular look well to the channels through which the treasures that enrich them come. There is ever an important difference between the wealth which proceeds from the devil and that which is bestowed by the hand of Christ.
(3) With unmistakable sincerity, as revealed by his solemn adjuration. God’s name, while to be taken in vain by none, may on appropriate occasions be appealed to by his servants to vindicate their truthfulness.
(4) After equitable reservation of the just claims of others, of the rations of his soldiers, which were not to be repaid, and the portions of his allies, which were not to be appropriated unless with their consent. The sacrifices made by God’s people should be composed of their own, and not of their neighbor’s property.
Learn
1. That God’s faithful servants are sure to win the approbation of good men and the benediction of Heaven.
2. That the friendship of wicked men and the congratulations of the world should never be desired by the saints.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Gen 14:18-20
A king-priest.
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed Abraham,” &c. When the king of Sodom was beaten in a war with Chedorlaomer, Lot was involved in the overthrow. Chedorlaomer was a warrior of great power, and his very name was terrible. Five confederate kings had in vain resisted him with his three auxiliaries. He whom kings could not oppose the simple patriarch Abraham, with armed herdsmen, will attack and conquer. His kinsman Lot is in captivity; Abraham will deliver him or die in the attempt. How nobly shines the character of Abraham in this determination. Lot had separated from him through a misunderstanding, and had chosen the most fertile district, and left Abraham the least promising, yet Abraham forgets all, when his relative is in danger. At great risk he undertakes his deliverance. He armed his “trained servants,” pursues the enemy, comes upon them “by night,” divides his small band into three companies, and makes an assault at once on the right, the center, and flank of the enemy. He routs and pursues them, smiting many and taking much spoil. He accomplishes above all his one desire, the restoration of Lot to liberty. As Abraham returns, flushed with conquest, he is met at the gates of Salem by Melchizedek, bringing to him bread, wine, and the Divine benediction.
I. THE DESIGNATION AND CHARACTER OF MELCHIZEDEK. He is king and priest. His name means, king of righteousness. He dwells in Salem, the place of peace. He did not go out to war, and had no part in the quarrel between Chedorlaomer and the king of Sodom. He had lost no relatives, and had no reason for fighting. Had cunning foes attacked his city of peace, he would doubtless have driven them off if possible. A king of righteousness, he would not think it his duty to submit to unrighteousness. He was, however, left unattacked by the fierce Chedorlaomer, and took care to provoke no quarrel. Perhaps he was not assailed because universally respected as a man of peace and a priest of God. This reason may have availed in that early age, and in respect to the first war of which we have any account, but it is not certain that it would be accounted a sufficient reason now. Various have been the speculations as to who Melchizedek was. Some believed that he was Enoch come back to earth, or Job, the tried one; others, that he was Shem, the best son of Noah. This is possible, as, according to calculations made, Shem survived Abraham forty years; but it is improbable, because Moses would have spoken of Shem by his proper name, and because that would not apply which is said of Melchizedek, in Heb 7:3that he was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” We know the ancestry of Shem, but not that of Melchizedek. The difficult passage, the third of the seventh chapter of Hebrews, means, probably, merely thisthat his descent was not known, and that his priesthood was not inherited or derived from others, but one resting in his individual character. Thus Noah, Job, Hobab or Jethro, and Balaam acted as independent priests, and their offerings were recognized by God. Melchizedek, in his maintenance of the worship of God, came to be accepted as a priest, and his life was like a star shining amid the general heathenism of Canaan. He also came like a streak of light, neither the coming nor the going of which could easily be discerned. We are told of him that he was “without beginning of days or end of life.” Some have therefore thought that Melchizedek was an angel or a pre-incarnation of Christ; if so, Christ would have been the type and the antitype. But that which is thought to be spoken of the man refers to his office; it was without definite beginning or ending. The Levitical priesthood had a definite beginning and ending; that of Melchizedek is never ended. The one stood in carnal ceremonies, the other in the power of a holy character. The Levitical was introduced because of the unfitness of all to become “kings and priests unto God;” but that of Melchizedek, being according to character, has no “end of days.” It foreshadowed the priesthood of Christ, whose work never passeth away, but who abideth a priest continually. Melchizedek was a type of Christ, the one great High Priest, the holiest of all on earth, and who enters for us into the holiest place. The omissions concerning parentage or the beginning of his priesthood were probably designed by God, that in Melchizedekthe most prominent of patriarchal prieststhere might be a more significant type of him who is a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. This would explain the force of the prophecy in Psa 110:1-7; and the words in Heb 7:1-28. Indeed the Levitical priesthood could not supply a perfect type, for it had no one who was at once a priest and king. Moses claimed not to be priest or king. David ventured not to intrude into the priestly office. Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, when he blessed the people, gave sacrifices for the priests to offer, but he slew them not. Uzziah attempted to intrude into the priestly office, but was stricken with leprosy. Under the Jewish dispensation there was no one who in his person could represent the twofold character of Christ as the only High Priest and universal King. Under the patriarchal dispensation, and in Melchizedek, there is this very plain type of Christ in his priestly and regal character. Melchizedek may never have imagined how great was the dignity put upon him as a type of Christ. Living a quiet, pure, and devoted life, he becomes accepted by his fellows as a priest of the Most High, and becomes the type of him who was the Savior of the world.
II. THE SIGNIFICANCE IN THE RECORDED ACTS OF MELCHIZEDEK.
1. Refreshing the weary. “Brought forth bread and wine,” that Abraham might eat and be strengthened. Possibly part of the wine was poured out as an oblation. When those who met wished to seal a friendship, they brake bread or partook of a meal together. Thus the Lord’s Supper is the indication of our union with Christof a friendship on his part for us sinners, cemented by his suffering. He gave himself to be the Bread of Life for us. We are in a spiritual sense to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, or we have no life in us. Christ oft thus comes forth to meet the weary pilgrims and soldiers of the cross. We must remember that it is the previous weary march, the confusion and the conflict, that fits us for the enjoyment of the sacred ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. We have had to battle with temptations of various kinds, and come stained with the dust and blood of battle to the table of our Lord, and here he meets us and refreshes us. We begin here to see the meaning of all the conflict and burden of life. His word acquires more meaning, and his Spirit rests upon us with greater power, as, just outside the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, we sit and rest awhile ere pursuing our way and battling again with sin. What thoughtfulness there was in this act of Melchizedek I Single acts like these tell what is the character of a man. How it hints at the thoughtfulness of Christ for us in all our spiritual struggles!
2. Melchizedek also “blessed” Abraham. He pronounced upon him the blessing which belongs to an unselfish performance of duty. God’s blessing is Abraham’s great reward, and a man was its mouthpiece. Because God’s approval was his reward he would not retain the spoil, although urged by the king of Sodom to keep the goods, and simply hand over the persons of his captive subjects. The approval of God expressed through conscience or the words of the good should be the Christian’s one desired reward. The blessing will always come in the way of duty.
3. Melchizedek claimed the honor of the victory for God. “Blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand.” Before the king of Sodom Abraham is reminded of his dependence on God; thus before the world the Christian shows forth his dependence on the Spirit’s help and “on the Lord’s death till he come.” We may never be ashamed to confess Christ. Abraham readily recognized the claim of God. He gave as a thank offering a tenth part of all he had taken. That which he gave, was his by custom and right. He gives it to God. God would not accept that which is wrung, by force, from another. He would say, “Who hath required this at your hand?” “I hate robbery for burnt offering.” God only accepts that which is righteously and willingly offered. If taxes are imposed men pay them, but often when it is left to their conscience they neglect their duty. Better, however, that no tenth or tithings, no ratings and taxings, should be paid than that God’s cause should be sustained unwillingly. As God gives us all we possess in love, as he sustains and pardons us in love, the least we can do is to love him and readily serve in return. We should devote all we are and have to Christ. Talents and possessions are his, and should be held in stewardship as from him. Let us not, however, make the mistake of thinking that it is by our gifts or good works we are saved. Many err here. It is only through Christ that our doings or persons can be accepted, even as Abraham’s gifts were through Melchizedek. Christ is our Priest and Sacrifice. Do not attempt to slight him. Trust in his merits, work, and intercession. Let him have the pre-eminence. Christ must rule in our hearts and lives. The will must be given into his hands. Life must be held as a gift from him, and eternal life will be his certain bestowal hereafter.
4. Melchizedek gave to Abraham cheering words and stimulus. This was more almost than the refreshment. Here, as we meet in communion with one another and with Christ, we have great joy. Christ cheers us. We feel we can go forth boldly, and that when sin meets us we can, in Christ’s strength, say, “Stand aside;” when hopes are cut off, as Lot was from his home, we can recover them through the cross. Thus our arms are nerved and hearts made strong for the future conflict. All the joy, however, is only a foretaste of that which will be ours when Christ shall meet us at the gate of the New Jerusalem, and shall lead us in to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Melchizedek, and all those who have been faithful to him. What will be our joy when we shall enter to abide in the “city of peace” with the “King of righteousness” for ever I May none of us know what will be the bitter pain of those who shall vainly call from without, because the door is shut, and the Master has entered in with those who were ready.H.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Gen 14:19
Melchizedek blessing Abraham.
“And he blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.” Wherever in Scripture Melchizedek is spoken of, it is as a type of Christ (Psa 110:4; Heb 5:1-14; Heb 6:1-20; Heb 7:1-28.). We may so regard him here, and consider his act in its typical light. Outwardly the transaction was of little mark. A band of men under Chedorlaomer carried off Lot, along with other spoil, from Sodom. Abram, on learning this, armed his household, pursued the invaders, routed them, and set the captives free. On his return Melchizedek, the head of a tribe near the line of march, came out to offer refreshment to his men; and as priest of his tribe he blessed Abram. Whether the type was understood by Abram or Melchizedek matters not. These things are written for our learning. We see in them Christ bestowing his blessing.
I. THE OCCASION OF THE BLESSING. After conflict. Our Lord the antitype of Melchizedek, as King of peace (Isa 9:6; cf. Luk 2:14; Joh 14:27). Yet the Christian life is emphatically one of warfare (Eph 6:11-13; 2Ti 2:3; cf. Gen 32:24; 1Pe 5:8; also Rev 2:1-29; Rev 3:1-22.”to him that overcometh,” &c.). The nature of that fight is against temptations to unbelief. The fight of faith (1Ti 6:12). The renewal under Christ of the battle lost in Eden (2Ti 4:7; 1Jn 5:4). Circumstances may vary. The trial may be apparent or not. There may be no outward suffering, no visible hindrance. But what a struggle is implied in 2Co 10:5. It is the struggle against unbelief; to resist the power of things seen; to overcome “How can these things be?” to realize habitually the “city which hath foundations” (cf. Php 3:20); to rest on God’s promises in simplicity (Php 3:7). As often as this struggle is honestly waged a blessing is bestowed (Jas 1:2; cf. Mat 7:13; Mat 16:24; Act 14:22). We naturally love spiritual ease, but trial is better (Psa 119:71).
II. THE SOURCE OF THE BLESSING. “The most high God, possessor,” &c.
1. All blessing is from God. We acknowledge this; but Isa 10:13 is a natural feeling. We instinctively look to second causes; yet without this “looking upward” we cannot truly pray, “Thy will be done;” we cannot really live a Godward life. Compare Melchizedek’s words with our Lord’s (Joh 14:13-16; Joh 16:23), and their fulfillment in his receiving for men (Psa 68:18) all needful giftsforgiveness, sonship, right to pray, means of grace, opportunities of work.
2. All creation used by him as means of bestowing his blessing (cf. Rom 8:28). Sorrows (Rom 5:3; Heb 12:11) and joys (Rom 2:4) are alike instruments of good (cf. Psa 116:12; Psa 119:67).
III. THE FRUIT OF THE BLESSING. Closer walk with God. The events of this chapter were followed by more vivid spiritual manifestations to Abram. And thus our spiritual life advances. The blessing is God’s free gift; but through conflict with evil the soul is prepared to receive it (cf. Psa 97:10). As in natural life powers are increased by exercise, or rather by God’s gift on this condition, so in the spiritual the conflict of self-denial, our Savior’s blessing, and the “spirit of adoption” are inseparably linked together. “Grace for grace” should be the Christian’s motto; ever pressing onwards. And as we can assign no limits to God’s blessing, so neither is there any limit to our nearness to him.M.
HOMILIES BY W. ROBERTS
Gen 14:20
The Church militant.
I. THE ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH. Like Abram’s
1. Numerous.
2. Formidable.
3. Exulting.
II. THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH. Like Abram’s
1. Certain.
2. Complete.
3. Final.
III. THE THANKSGIVING OF THE CHURCH. Like Abram’s
1. Due to God most high.
2. Offered through the priest of the most high God.
3. Expressed in self-consecration to the service of God.W.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Gen 14:22, Gen 14:23
Abraham’s independent spirit.
“And Abraham said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up my hand 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,” &c. When Lot chose the plains of Sodom he knew not what trials awaited him there. The king of Sodom was attacked and defeated. He escaped, but many of his subjects were either slaughtered or made captive. Lot was carried away by the invading host. Abraham delivers him. On his return, flushed with victory, he is met by two personsMelchizedek and the king of Sodom. To the first he gives tithes, as a thank offering; from the second he will not receive anything for all the risk he had run in the conflict. 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.
I. ABRAHAM WISHED TO AVOID PLACING HIMSELF UNDER OBLIGATION TO A WORLDLY MAN.
II. ABRAHAM WISHED TO AVOID THE APPEARANCE OF TOO GREAT INTIMACY WITH AN UNRIGHTEOUS MAN.
III. ABRAHAM WISHED TO SHOW THAT THE SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH GOD CAN DO GOOD WITHOUT HOPE OF REWARD.
IV. ABRAHAM WISHED TO SHOW HOW UNDESIRABLE A PRACTICE IT WAS, TO GAIN BY THE MISFORTUNES OF OTHERS.
V. ABRAHAM WISHED TO SHOW THAT GOD, AND A SPIRIT OF CONTENTEDNESS, WERE A GOOD MAN‘S TRUE RICHES. How much better to act thus than to permit the ungodly to point the finger of scorn and say, with respect to professedly religious men, that they are just as greedy and worldly as the most irreligious.H.
Gen 14:17. And the king of Sodom, &c. After Abram’s return with conquest, the recovered captives, and the spoil, Bera the king of Sodom, Gen 14:2 and Melchizedek the king of Salem, went out to meet him, at a place called the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale; probably so called from the event of the kings’ meeting here. If this valley be the same with that mentioned, 2Sa 18:18 called also the valley of Jehoshaphat, Joe 3:2, it is very probable that Salem, whereof Melchizedek was king, is the same with Jerusalem; for this valley lies between Jerusalem and mount Olivet, and the brook Cedron runs through it. And it is plain from the view of any map of ancient Palestine, that Abram, in his return to Hebron from Hobah by Dan, (by which place it is most probable he returned,) must have passed near Jerusalem. Of this place then, it is most likely, Melchizedek was king; a petty princedom, like the others mentioned in this chapter, the kings of which, Bera, Birsha, &c. are as little known as Melchizedek: and, according to the custom of those ancient times, he was priest as well as king; a custom of which we find traces, in almost every nation: and he was a priest of the true and Most High God; a believer, yet untainted by the idolatry of the times, who kept up the true religion derived from his progenitor Noah. And being such a character, no wonder he went out to congratulate Abram, and to receive him with all the rites of hospitality. According to his office, as priest, he blessed the great patriarch; and the patriarch gave to him the priest’s appointed due, the tenth or tithe: whence it seems to follow, that the oeconomy of the priesthood was settled before the law. We need not remark what various opinions there have been concerning Melchizedek; some supposing him to have been Shem, and others Ham; some the Holy Ghost, and others the Son of God. Whereas, if we attend to the literal history, nothing can be more evident, than that he was no other than here represented, “a king of Salem, named Melchizedek, a believer, and a priest of the Most High God.” The allegorical account of him which is given in the epistle to the Hebrews, is very easily and most properly interpreted upon this plan, of considering Melchizedek as a real person, king of Salem, of whose pedigree and descent nothing is related; and who, in that view, may well be said to be without father or mother; especially where a topic is handled merely in an allegorical way. And as living in Canaan, there seems no doubt but he was of a different descent or family from Abram; probably descended from Ham. See Heb 7:6.
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.
Ver. 17. The king’s dale.] So called here by way of anticipation. 2Sa 18:18
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 14:17-24
17Then 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). 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. 19He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all. 21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” 22Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, 23that 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.’ 24I 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.”
Gen 14:17 “the king of Sodom” Exactly how “the king of Sodom” is related to the king of Salem is uncertain. (Gen 14:17 picks up on the divisions of the spoils of war continued in Gen 14:21-24). It is surprising to me that he (i.e., Shemeber, Gen 14:2) is even mentioned. Apparently (1) the king of Salem was a spiritual advisor to the king of Sodom or (2) this is an abridged context combining two separate events. Salem is not one of the Cities of the Plain that were attacked (cf. Gen 14:1-2).
From Gen 14:23 Abram wanted YHWH to receive all the credit for his prosperity (cf. Gen 14:20 b) and he did not fully trust the king of Sodom.
“the valley of Shaveh (that is the King’s Valley)” The term “Shaveh” (BDB 1001) means “to be smooth” (BDB 1000) and here may refer to a plain.
The “King’s Valley” is also mentioned in 2Sa 18:18 and appears to be a valley close to Salem. Its location is uncertain (though some think it is the Kidron Valley), as are so many people and places in this chapter.
Gen 14:18 “Melchizedek” The name means “king of righteousness” or “my king is righteous” (BDB 575, similar to Jos 10:1; Zedek may relate to a Canaanite astral god, Zedek). The name (Melchizedek) appears only here and in Psa 110:4 in the OT. The Psalms 110 passage caused the Dead Sea Scrolls community to expect two Messiahs.
1. a royal one from the tribe of Judah
2. a priestly one from the tribe of Levi
The NT book of Hebrews (i.e., chapter 7) uses this Canaanite priest/king as a type of a superior priesthood.
1. his genealogy is not given
2. Abram offers a tithe to him (Gen 14:20, a sign of an acknowledgment to a superior)
3. he is leader of the city later to become Jerusalem
4. he is a priest (unusual at this period, the father acted as priest for the family, cf. Gen 31:54; Job 1) to God Most High (El Elyon, , cf. Gen 14:19-20)
By means of rabbinical hermeneutics the author of Hebrews uses him as a type/symbol of a better priesthood than Aaron/Levi.
“Salem” The special city that YHWH chose for His name to dwell goes by several names in the OT.
1. Salem – early Canaanite name
2. Jebus – Canaanite name of Joshua’s day
3. Jerusalem – of David’s day (see parallelism of Psa 76:2)
“bread and wine” This was for Abram and all the others as well. This was a way of referring to the necessities of life (cf. Psa 104:15). They may have had a religious significance (i.e., covenant of peace meal), but this is uncertain from the text. It is not a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Supper. Be careful of types not revealed by inspired NT authors!
“wine”
SPECIAL TOPIC: BIBLICAL ATTITUDES TOWARD ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM
Gen 14:19-20 Most English translations mark this as poetry.
Gen 14:19 “blessed be Abram” This is the same VERB (BDB 138, KB 159) found three times in Gen 12:3. Its basic meaning is to “kneel” or “bless.”
“Most High” Abram, Melchizedek, and Job all knew the God of creation by different names.
1. Abram – YHWH
2. Melchizedek – El Elyon
3. Job – Elohim, El
See Special Topic: Names for Deity .
“possessor of heaven and earth” The VERB (BDB 888, KB 1111, Qal PARTICIPLE, cf. Gen 14:22) means “to own” or “to make” (possibly from two similar consonantal roots). This theological language is common in Near Eastern religions (i.e., Canaanite Ugaritic poems); it was a way to acknowledge the high god (applied to YHWH in Psa 115:15; Psa 121:2; Psa 124:8; Psa 134:3; Psa 146:6).
Gen 14:20 “a tenth of all” This is the first mention of a numerical concept that develops into the tithe in Leviticus (see Special Topic following). This gesture on Abram’s part was a way of thanking YHWH for the victory and acknowledging that He was the victor!
By giving this to Melchizedek he was recognizing him as one who truly knew and served the same God who called him from Ur (cf. Gen 14:22).
SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHES IN THE MOSAIC LEGISLATION
SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHING
Gen 14:21 One wonders if the “tithes” of Gen 14:20 are part of the spoils discussion of Gen 14:21. There is confusion in the context.
1. Gen 14:17; Gen 14:21-24 deal with the king of Sodom and the spoils
2. Gen 14:18-20 deal with the tithe of the spoils to the king of Salem
Gen 14:22 Notice how Abram equates the names for Deity.
1. YHWH
2. El Elyon
thereby identifying them as one and the same.
Gen 14:23 “I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours” This hyperbolic language is typical (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 120) of Ancient Near Eastern bartering language (cf. Genesis 23). It is an idiom for “taking nothing.” Clothing was one of the spoils of battle. Abram wanted to make it perfectly clear, he was not entering or had never been in a covenant relationship with the king of Sodom.
Gen 14:24 This is a list of Abram’s neighbors who aided in the battle and who deserved the spoils due them.
king’s dale = the king of Salem mentioned in next verse. The name still retained in 2Sa 18:18.
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 kings dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him,
In the name of God, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. This mysterious personage, the highest type of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed Abraham; and without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. He blessed him,
Gen 14:19-20. And said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Abraham recognized the priest of God as his spiritual superior, and he gave him tithes of all.
Gen 14:21. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
It was according to the rule of war that, if persons who had made an invasion were afterwards themselves captured, then if the new captor gave up the persons, he was fully entitled to take the goods to himself.
Gen 14:22-23. 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, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
The patriarch is greater than the king. He has a right to all his spoil; but he will not touch it, lest the glory of his God should thereby be stained. Abraham will have nothing but what his God shall give him; he will not take anything from the king of Sodom. I like to see this glorious independence of the believing man. I have a right to this, says he, but I will not take it; what are mere earthly rights to me? My chief business is to honour the God whom I am, and whom I serve; and if the taking of this spoil would dishonour him, I will not take even so much as a thread or a shoe-latchet.
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.
Though I am willing to give up my share of the spoil, that is no reason why these men should do the same. Christian men ought not to expect worldlings to do what they cheerfully and willingly do themselves; and, indeed, it is not much use to expect it, for they are not likely to do it. Now let us read in the twenty-second chapter of this same Book of Genesis. Abraham had endured the supreme test of his faith, and had, in full intent, offered up his son Isaac at the command of God, his hand being withheld from the actual sacrifice only by an angelic voice.
This exposition consisted of readings from Gen 12:1-7; Gen 14:17-24; and Gen 22:15-18.
to: Jdg 11:34, 1Sa 18:6, Pro 14:20, Pro 19:4
after: Heb 7:1
king’s: 2Sa 18:18
Reciprocal: Exo 18:7 – went Num 22:36 – went Num 31:13 – went forth Deu 23:4 – Because they met
Abram’s meeting with two kings 14:17-24
This section records an important decision Abram had to make after he returned victoriously from his battle with the Mesopotamian kings.
The "valley of Shaveh" was near Jerusalem (the "Salem" of Gen 14:18). It may have been the Kidron Valley immediately east of the city or some other valley not far away.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)