WEBVTT 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.280 We're gonna have our Bible reading now from Genesis chapter 14. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:22.960 It's gonna appear, I think, behind me. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:33.039 Uh, one of the things that we normally do is we normally ask somebody else to do the reading, but as you'll see very quickly, if you click over to the first slide, how cruel that would be to ask anybody else to read it. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:48.000 The thing with old and old Hebrew names is nobody really knows how they're pronounced, you just take a run at it as hard as you can uh and give it give it a good old go and uh and we'll we'll see how far we get before I start tripping up, okay? 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:50.719 So, up there, pray for me. 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:51.439 Let's go. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:52.960 Chapter 14. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:01:13.840 In the days of Amrafel, king of Shynar, Ariak, King of Elisar, Kidilomar, King of Elum, and Tidal, King of Goyim, these kings made war with Bera, king of Sodom, Bersha, King of Gomorrah, Shinab, King of Adma, Shimeber, King of Zeboim, and Bela, that is Zor, in case you were confused. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:18.400 And all these joined forces in the valley of Siddham, that is the Salt Sea. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:23.680 Twelve years they had served Kirilomar, uh, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:45.519 In the fourteenth year, Kerilomar and the kings who were with him uh came and defeated the re uh the Rephaim in Ashtaroth Kanarim and the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shave Kiryatham, and the Horites in the hill country of Ser as far as El Paran on the border of the wilderness. 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:56.879 Then they turned back and came to En-Mushpat, that is Kadesh, and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazor Tamar. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:17.439 Then the king of Sodom and the King of Gomorrah and the king of Adma and the king of Zeboim and the king of Bela, that is Zor, went out and joined battle in the valley of Siddim, with Kidilomar, the king of Elam, Tidal the King of Goim, Amrafel the king of Shinar, and Ariok the king of Elisar, four kings against five. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:22.080 Now the valley of Siddhim was full of bitumen pits, that's tar pits. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:28.639 And as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fell to the hill fled to the hill country. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:34.719 So the enemy took the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the provisions, and went their way. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:44.560 They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:56.960 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and of Anor, these were allies of Abram. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:08.479 When Abram had heard that his kinsmen had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men born of his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:20.000 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hoba, north of Damascus. 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:28.159 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsmen, Lot, with his possessions, and the women and the people. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:39.680 After his return from the defeat of Kirilomar, and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shave, that is the King's Valley. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.840 And Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought out bread and wine. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.639 He was priest of God most high. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:58.159 And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:01.680 And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.159 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, but take the goods to yourself. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:23.759 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to the Lord God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you would say, I have made Abram rich. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:30.800 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:35.120 Let Anna and Eshkol and Mamre take their share. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:38.319 So reads God's word. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:40.240 There we go. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:40.879 Can I sit down? 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.480 No, no, I've got to try to figure out what this text means. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:46.639 Shall we pray and ask for God's help? 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:59.279 Our Father, we thank you that all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for our learning, uh, for training and righteousness, that the people of God may be competent and equipped for every good work. 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.040 Would you speak to us now by the power of your Holy Spirit? 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:08.800 Make us competent and equipped for every good work as we seek to love and to follow you. 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.680 And we ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:12.639 Amen. 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:24.399 So Genesis uh 14, uh certainly the first half of it has a has a sense of uh something of the middle earth about it, or kind of game of thrones. 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:36.240 There's kings making alliances with other kings and battles and prisoners of war, and then more battles and bitumen pits and negotiations, spoils of war. 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:56.639 And yet, at the center of all of those confusing names and places and kings is Abram, the man that we've been tracking for the last couple of chapters, God's man, the man of faith, the one to whom God had made promises that through him all of the nations of the earth would be blessed. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.600 And here's a glimpse of the nations of the earth and what are they doing. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.160 They're all fighting with one another. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:05.360 They're all ruled by tyrants. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:11.279 And in the center is the man who would come to finally bring blessing. 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:17.279 The world still, sadly, is ruled by tyrants. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:24.079 You may think of the despotic rulers of Russia and North Korea. 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:32.000 Look forward to this being listened to by uh the KGB on the Spotify uh feed next week. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:45.920 But there's also more subtle forces, right, that kind of draw and tug on us and require our submission, require our allegiance, even in the West. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:51.600 There are those those things that seek to rule and to govern us. 00:06:51.839 --> 00:07:04.480 It's the paradox of living in a world where everybody says, you know, that you're you're an individual and you're free and you can create your own identity and be whoever you want and uh and do whatever you want. 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.600 That even in that environment, there are tribes, aren't there? 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.079 Uh tribes which demand your allegiance. 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:21.120 There are uh truths, uh self-evident truths that you don't go against if you want to live in a society like ours. 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:26.399 There are things you don't say, you might think them internally, but you don't say them out loud. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:36.000 There's a kind of worldview belief system out there that demands your allegiance, that you submit to it, that you follow it. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:46.959 And when we go against them, people think that we've betrayed them. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:51.120 When we go against them, we find ourselves cancelled. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.000 Your allegiances matter. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:01.839 What you decide to submit to, trust in, follow matters. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:10.480 It all speaks to who or what you are orientating your life towards. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:12.800 Your allegiances matter. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.519 They show what it is you are trusting. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:22.720 And what you are trusting will affect your life and your witness in the world. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:28.560 It'll affect what your life proclaims, what your values are. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:34.480 Now, regarding the context, if you want to think, okay, what is going on with all of this? 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:35.039 Let me try. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.120 I'm gonna break it down as briefly as possible without getting lost uh in the details. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:45.279 The basic idea is this is that Kidil Omar is uh the big king, right? 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:51.440 And uh he lives kind of in the northeast away from Jerusalem. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:55.919 So if you're kind of picture Israel in your mind, your end of the Mediterranean, this little strip, right? 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:05.519 Kedil Omar is all is all the way up over here towards uh towards Iraq and uh and Iran and Assyria, that that sort of direction. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:19.200 But he has such power that he's uh subdued these lesser kings, and as was very common in the ancient Near East, those kings are having to pay taxes to Kid Lomar, right? 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.200 Uh that's what happens in the first battle. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:27.039 In the first battle, he rides in and he subdues them and says, right, you can stay in place, you've got to pay me taxes. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:29.679 Very common in the ancient Near East. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:42.960 The kings of the valley, so Sodom, Gomorrah, uh, Zora, those guys, they kind of live with this for about 12 years, and then they decide, you know what, we haven't seen Kirl Omar in a while. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:45.679 Uh, we're gonna blow off paying our tribute. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.000 Um, you know, where is this guy even anyway? 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:49.039 He's all the way over there. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:50.399 Why are we paying taxes to him? 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:54.960 And so they they rebel, they stop paying their tribute money. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:03.360 Kidal Omar, because he's very far away, he lets this slide for a year, kind of saddles his army and thinks, okay, I'll sort that out in time. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:26.799 So a year later, he comes sweeping down from the north and decimates the valley, Sodom and Gomorrah and all of these towns that are named, and he takes all of their possessions and he takes the people into slavery and he carries them off back north to where he came from. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:35.360 The problem is that one of the people that he took away uh into slavery is a guy called Lot. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:38.320 Now, we if you have been here, we've met Lot. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:43.360 If you're new, Lot is Abram's who will become Abraham. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:45.919 He's Abram's nephew. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.639 And that's why the story's in here. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:56.480 See, the Bible, the Bible isn't an exhaustive history of every single detail that happened in the world up until now. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:57.679 That's not its point. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:59.600 That's not what it's trying to do. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:01.440 You see that in the Gospels as well. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:06.240 The Gospels are selected details of the biography of Jesus' life. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:08.320 And John even says this at the end of his gospel. 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:14.559 He says, if I had written down all of the things that Jesus had done, there wouldn't be enough paper in the world to contain them. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.679 But I've written down these specific things for a specific purpose. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.679 John's purpose that you might know that Jesus is the Christ and have life in his name. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.600 And Genesis is a bit like that as well. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:32.399 Moses isn't interested, Moses the author, isn't interested in telling you every single little detail that happened between the creation of the world and now. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:35.759 This is a theological history. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.480 He's telling you the story of God's people. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:59.440 And so the reason why all of those names matter, and the reason why we still, 4,500 years or so later, talk about Kedil Omar, and he's not just forgotten to the annals of history, is not that because Kedilomar is a great king, but because he affected God's man. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.000 The story centers on Abram. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:10.879 And the fact that Kidil Omar has taken Abram's nephew matters. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.240 It matters to God's purposes in the world. 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:20.159 And so, in brief summary of the rest of the passage, what happens? 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:29.120 Well, Abram raises an army, he defeats Kid Lomar, he rescues Lot, and on his way home, so Abram rides north, right? 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:32.559 He's down here in the wilderness, nearly in Egypt, right? 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:39.360 So he's away from the battle that's initially happening, but somebody runs and says, Oh, hold on, Lot's been captured. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:40.960 You might want to do something about that. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:44.000 So he jumps on his horse as a 75-year-old man, right? 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:57.840 And he musters an army and he sweeps up north, pursuing Kid Lomar, defeats him right up in the north in a place called Dan, and brings all of the stuff and Lot back down south. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.320 And on their way down south, two kings come out. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:05.120 Sodom comes out and goes, Hey, can I uh can I get my people back? 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.279 You can keep the stuff, but I want the people. 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:14.399 Another guy comes, a guy called Melchizedek, who's one of the strangest characters in the Bible. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.919 And we're going to come to him in a little while. 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:20.799 But let's get into some of the detail of the passage. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:25.200 Four things uh to note around this theme of allegiances. 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:32.000 First, if you're taking notes, making an ally of wickedness will lead you to disaster. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:38.720 Very simply, making an ally of wickedness will lead you to disaster. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:47.360 The last time that we were with Lot, last week in Genesis 13, Lot looked out over the uh over the whole country. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:53.360 He and his uncle Abram were standing on a hill, and Abram says, You know what, pick whatever part of the land you want. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.240 Let's go our separate ways, and you pick. 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:02.399 And Lot picks the fertile valley to move his uh his herdsmen down into. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:09.919 And we read there that he went and he uh set up his camp near the city of Sodom. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:13.679 And already the author is being like, Oh, careful here. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:23.840 He says, you know, the men of Sodom were wicked and did and did wicked things in the eyes of the Lord, and he's moved his tent close to that city. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:31.679 Now we read one chapter later that he's not camping outside of the city, but has rather done what? 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:40.559 He's moved in, he's become part of the city's infrastructure, he's living inside it. 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:48.080 He has increased his affinity with that wicked city. 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:50.240 Now, why would he do that? 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:55.279 Well, I guess from a material point of view, it looked like the right decision. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:56.720 That's what we saw last week. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:00.480 Lot's only looking at his material advancement. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:08.480 He's forgotten everything about his uh the spiritual side of his character, the fact that he has a soul that should be guarded and shepherded. 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:11.919 He's only making decisions based on economics. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:21.679 And surely the natural progression is well, cities are safe, certainly safer than living out in the wilderness. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.200 They're walled, and he had become very wealthy. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:40.000 So it's like if I move all of my wealth inside the city and there's defenses around them, then I'm less likely to get ransacked by a marauding band of Babylonians, whoever it was that was marauding in those days. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:44.399 And so he thinks, right, I'm going to move into the into the city. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:16:02.639 He chooses to set aside any thought of what it might do to compromise his value system, to compromise his morals in moving into that wicked city and goes, you know what, this is the most advantageous and effective thing that I can do. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:06.559 This is not to say that cities are morally questionable. 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:08.000 We love our city. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:13.120 That's one of our uh three main vision things: love God, love people, love Dublin. 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:19.759 It's not to say that cities are inherently morally questionable, though if you've grown up in the countryside you might think that. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:30.080 The point is that Lot allowed himself to be completely absorbed into the city's culture, to live under this wicked king's rule. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:42.480 He'd separated himself from God's people, that is his his extended family from Abram, and he had found himself allied with wickedness. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:50.480 And as a result, he was completely at the mercy of the political winds of change. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:58.799 And so when Keda Lomart came sweeping down in, he could do nothing about it, and he was swept away. 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:26.319 When we build our security on what can be seen on our money, on family, on career, we can find ourselves beginning to compromise those values that we held before, beginning to compromise our integrity in order to shure up and secure these things. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:36.559 But the problem is that when we place our security, our hope, in a material circumstance, that's what a lot's doing. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:44.079 You can find yourself in a very precarious situation because in a moment it can be lost. 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:49.359 That job that you value can be gone, that relationship that defined you can be over. 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:56.960 When you place your hope in a circumstance, you place your hope in a very precarious situation. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:01.759 Because when it's lost, when it goes, what happens to you then? 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:08.559 You find yourself like a lot taken captive to the tyrant of despair. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:23.440 Be careful not to ally yourself to that which is most expedient, to allow yourself simply to thinking and ruling your life in terms of what is most economically advantageous. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:26.319 Be careful of allying yourself to wickedness. 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:28.720 It will lead you to disaster. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:31.119 Second. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:41.519 Consider the wisdom and witness of your allegiances. 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:48.559 Consider the wisdom and witness of your allegiances. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:56.720 The opposite of being like Lot, if you're like, okay, okay, don't be like Lot, that's my take home, don't be like Lot. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:03.039 And you know, that could actually be the uh the take-home for a lot of chapters in Genesis between here and 22. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:05.279 And the New Testament says that Lot was a righteous man. 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:06.559 I'm still wrestling with that, right? 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.240 Okay, we'll come to that later. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:15.200 The opposite of being like Lot is not complete isolation from the world. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:16.640 Okay? 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:19.839 It's not just to shut yourself off. 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:32.640 The issue was with Lot was not so much that he was near in proximity to wicked people, it's that he began in every way to identify himself with them. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:34.480 He began to look just like them. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:40.400 He was completely indistinguishable from the rest of the people in the city of Sodom. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:53.359 In verse 13 of the passage that we read, we read that someone escapes from the battle and runs to tell Abram what has happened. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:20:03.200 And when he gets to Abram, we we note some important things, some interesting things about where he finds Abram. 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:07.599 First of all, in verse 13, he's identified as Abram the Hebrew. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:18.000 It's the first time the uh the term Hebrew is used, and it's used to denote that he has a distinct identity from the people who are immediately around him. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:24.880 He is discernibly different from the other guys, and the other guys are are named. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.000 We've got Mamre and Eshkol and Aner. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:34.400 He's known to be different, and yet he's near them. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:50.799 He's near the oaks of Mamre, and if you remember right back to Genesis 12 that we looked at a month ago, the Oaks of Mamre are one of the places where where Abram had set up an altar to call on the name of the Lord his God. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:59.759 He didn't go to the to the Baal altar or to the Ashtaroth altar or to the Molech altar, he built his own and he worshipped there. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:08.880 And so he's distinct, he's worshiping his God, and there's people around him who have known who have noted. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:15.839 And what does the text tell us about these people who aren't followers of the God of the Bible? 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:20.960 We read that they were his allies. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.839 They had allied themselves with Abram. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:37.440 So it's possible for Abram to create an allegiance with these people who don't follow his God without compromising his own worship. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:39.119 Isn't that interesting? 00:21:40.640 --> 00:22:00.799 What's more, Abram is so highly regarded by these people who don't believe like he does or think like he does, that when the news comes that his nephew, who they've probably never met, has been taken captive, not only do they uh uh do they say, uh Go for it, Abram. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.160 We'll uh we'll look after the house. 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:05.039 No, no, they saddle their horses with him. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:06.799 And off they go too. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:11.119 They go into battle with Abram, the man of God. 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.000 Here's the point. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:26.079 Our calling as Christians is never to either full assimilation or full isolation. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:29.440 It is never to say, but you know what? 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:31.680 I just need to speak the language of the city. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.000 I'm going to have the same values of the city. 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.799 I'm going to have the same values of my friendship group. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.039 I'm going to talk in the same way that they do. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:43.759 I'm going to affirm everything that they believe and everything that they do and everything that they say. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:45.599 I'm just going to fit in. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.920 I'm just going to look like them. 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:54.160 But privately inside, I'll I'll keep my own worldview. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:55.519 I'll keep my own belief system. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:57.680 I'll just never say it out loud. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:59.680 I'll only be affirming. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:07.599 The problem with that is that eventually they're going to find out what you really believe, if indeed you do still believe it, and they're going to think that you're a two-faced. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:09.200 You're going to think that you're a traitor. 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.839 Not only that, it's going to have an effect on you internally. 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:16.400 So full assimilation doesn't really work. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.519 But neither does full isolation. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:32.079 You've met those Christians, I'm sure, or even come from that sort of background where the Christian disposition is to completely pull up the drawbridge and to and to shelter away from the world. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:35.119 They look at the city and go, oh, the city is full of sin. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:36.880 Sin's out there. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:40.480 And so we need to protect ourselves from the sin that might be in here. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:41.759 How wrong-headed is that? 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:45.200 Have you taken a moment's reflection on how awful you are, right? 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.480 And so you think, well, no, sin's not just an out there thing. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:52.559 So fully withdrawing doesn't solve the problem either. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:24:16.799 And here we have just a sense of Abraham, Abram being in the midst of these people who don't think the way he thinks and don't believe the way he believes, and yet he is so highly regarded by them, and they know he's different, they know he worships a different God, but when trouble happens, they saddle their horse and fight with them. 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:28.799 Have you got relationships with people who don't believe the way you do that are so tight that while they know that you're a different person, if something happened to you, they'd be right there. 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:31.119 And if not, why not? 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:39.519 We all have a tendency to one of those extremes, to full assimilation or to full isolation. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:41.119 What's yours? 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:43.119 Do you just gonna? 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:52.000 I'm just gonna affirm everything, keep my head down, you're like, no, I'm gonna withdraw, this is too hard, sinful people out there. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.920 What's your tendency? 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:57.279 What extreme do you tend to run to? 00:24:57.599 --> 00:24:59.680 And here's your application point. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:04.400 Whatever tendency you run to, work on the other one. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:19.119 If your tendency is to go to full affirmation, you need to work out some way of actually being distinctive, looking, sounding, speaking differently. 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:25.440 Being known as a Christian in your class, being known as a Christian in your workplace. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:32.400 That doesn't mean it doesn't mean bringing in tracks and putting them down in the common room. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:39.599 That doesn't mean every time somebody pours you a glass of red wine, you're like, oh, that just reminds me of the blood that Jesus shed for me on the cross. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:40.559 Right? 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:49.279 There's a bit of wisdom and tact for how you might do it, but there are ways of showing that you think differently, that you believe differently? 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:53.519 Or are you a person who just does full isolation? 00:25:55.279 --> 00:26:13.039 Well, is there a way that actually you can be with those people, interested in the stories and lives of those people around you, your neighbors, college mates, classmates, work colleagues, becoming interested in them? 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:28.400 Perhaps even long before you ever mention the name of Jesus, in order to be in their lives, in order to create these allegiances of witness. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:34.400 What's your extreme work on the other side? 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:45.200 Third, beware those allegiances that promise much but demand your soul. 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:50.400 Beware those allegiances that promise much but demand your soul. 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:59.200 Abram, as we have said, saddles his army, he launches his attack, he heads north, and he gets his nephew back. 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:07.839 He defeats Kerlomar, and as a result, he brings back all the spoils of war and his nephew. 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:12.640 And then we read that the king of Sodom comes out to meet Abram. 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:19.519 He's cleaned off all of the tar, uh he's kind of gone back, washed his face, and out he comes to meet Abram. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:28.720 With him also comes another king who we have not talked too much about yet, Melchizedek, the king of Salem. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:33.759 That place will become Jerusalem later on in the Bible. 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:36.160 But Melchizedek is king of Salem. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:40.160 We'll think more about this strange character of Melchizedek in a moment. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:43.200 But note the contrast here. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:47.920 Melchizedek comes out and brings provision. 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:50.559 He brings out bread and wine. 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:57.920 Sodom brings nothing, and the first words out of his mouth are give me. 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:01.119 See the contrast? 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:02.640 Give me. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:11.519 But despite Sodom's frostiness, the offer is actually quite attractive, isn't it? 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:16.960 He's saying, give me the people, and you take all the stuff. 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:21.440 And you think, actually, that's the right way around because people need to be fed. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:24.240 Whereas gold and stuff doesn't need to be fed. 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:27.039 So it's like, yeah, that's economically more viable. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:30.000 You take all the mouse to feed, I'm gonna have the gold. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:30.559 Thank you very much. 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:34.160 It's quite an attractive offer that Sodom is making. 00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:38.880 It would have made Abram extraordinarily wealthy. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:44.799 And what's more, Abram had every right as the victor to take it. 00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:47.359 But he turns it down. 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.160 Why does Abram turn down this offer? 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:55.119 Two reasons. 00:28:55.519 --> 00:29:04.000 The first is because Abram knows that the one who owns everything ultimately is God. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:09.039 Neither he nor Sodom are possessors of heaven and earth. 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:11.839 And so he acknowledges verse 22. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.039 I've lifted my hand to God most high, possessor of heaven and earth. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:18.880 He's like, Sodom, this stuff isn't yours. 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:21.359 It's not yours to give in the first place. 00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:23.920 God owns it all. 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:32.960 So this idea that uh that you could come negotiating to me, you've missed the point, Sodom. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:37.119 He recognizes that God owns everything. 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:50.880 Do you acknowledge that all of the things that you have, and that every time at the end of the month your bank balance increases, that it's not actually yours. 00:29:52.480 --> 00:30:02.799 That it's God's, and He's given it to you as a gift to use and to steward for you and for your family and for your upbuilding and for your growth and godliness. 00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:07.200 Or do you sit there and you think, what on earth is he talking about? 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:10.079 Doesn't he know how hard that I've worked to earn that? 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.799 Who is the possessor of heaven and earth? 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:27.599 The second reason that he turns it down is that he will not be enriched in any way by Sodom because it bears the taint of moral compromise. 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:36.160 If Abram had taken Sodom's wealth, imagine what that would have done for Abram's reputation. 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.400 Abram, the man of God. 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:42.640 People say, well, what made him so wealthy? 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:43.920 Where did he get his money from? 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:48.160 Hey, oh, he uh got it from Sodom. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:50.880 Oh, Sodom, right? 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:51.440 Okay. 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:54.240 No, he won't have any of it. 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:56.160 He's keeping his witness. 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:02.319 Again, it's another way that he's showing that he's not fully assimilating into the values of the world. 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:06.480 He has this right to take it all, and he sets it aside. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:07.759 He's very wise. 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:44.079 Likewise, isn't there just such a temptation for us all at various moments just to just to give a little in terms of compromise, to move a little on our values in order to increase our influence or to enrich ourselves, to gain the world's esteem or respect by just flexing on what we believe just a little in order that they might like us a little bit more. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:32:01.039 Remember what the offspring of Abram said when Jesus on the Sermon in the Mount said, what does it profit a man or a woman to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:08.960 You can make yourself very rich these days by selling yourself. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:15.599 The only thing that it will cost you is your soul. 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:25.680 Beware making allegiances that promise much at the cost of your soul. 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:27.680 Finally. 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:12.960 There's no sense of his lineage or line. 00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:21.519 Uh, and so it seems like he's kind of just stepped out of eternity onto this stage of human history. 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:25.440 The names and descriptions that he has are interesting. 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:32.240 His name, uh Melchazedek, is it means king of righteousness. 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:37.279 The place where he rules is peace. 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:40.960 Salem comes from the same word as shalom. 00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:47.200 So he is the king of righteousness, the king of peace. 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:52.960 And he's not just a king, he's also a priest. 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:55.279 A priest to who? 00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:59.200 A priest to God most high. 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:08.239 He seems to be a priest to the God that Abram worships, a priest of Yahweh. 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:11.360 And what does this king priest do? 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:19.920 Well, he blesses Abram and reminds him that it is God who has given him victory in battle. 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:22.800 He comes with provision and with blessing. 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:28.639 He speaks words words of encouragement, he lifts his eyes to God and enables him to worship. 00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:34.079 And how does Abraham respond to this king priest, this king of righteousness, this king of peace? 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:35.840 How does Abram respond? 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:39.679 He gives him a tenth of everything. 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:41.519 He gives him a tithe. 00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:50.639 Rather than receiving, he gives, he responds by giving. 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:59.199 In doing so, Abram gives as an act of worship and dependence. 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:06.800 He's not so much trying to enrich Melchizedek, but acknowledging Melchizedek's God. 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.840 It's an act of worship for Abram. 00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:22.480 Does your giving reflect your desire to worship and express dependence on God most high? 00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:39.519 But in giving Melchizedek also acknowledges that, sorry, but in giving Abraham also acknowledges that Melchizedek is superior to him, that Melchizedek is greater. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:52.079 The one who is greater gives a blessing to him who is lesser, and the one who is lesser responds by giving. 00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:07.360 He makes the claim that Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek. 00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:13.920 The words in the book of Hebrews are he's a priest in the order of Melchizedek. 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:15.679 He looks like Melchizedek. 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:17.039 Jesus does. 00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:19.440 What does that mean? 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:27.840 Well, it means that Jesus is a king who, like Melchizedek, is also a priest. 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:30.639 How do we know that Jesus is a king? 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:33.920 Well, because he tells us that he is. 00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:39.599 He says that he has come to proclaim the kingdom of God. 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:42.559 In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth. 00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:43.760 This is Mark 1.15. 00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:49.440 In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth and said, The time is now fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:51.840 Repent and believe the good news. 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:54.079 He says, I'm bringing in the kingdom. 00:36:54.159 --> 00:36:57.440 And all the way through the gospels, he shows us what the kingdom is like. 00:36:57.679 --> 00:36:59.039 That's what the miracles are for. 00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:07.199 The kingdom is a place where sickness does not touch, where chaos does not touch, where the evil spirits of this world do not touch. 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:08.320 He's bringing in the kingdom. 00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:09.920 And then he stands before Pilate. 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:12.320 And Pilate says, Are you a king? 00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:13.760 And what does Jesus say? 00:37:13.840 --> 00:37:18.079 He says, Well, my kingdom is not of this world. 00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:19.920 My kingdom. 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:22.320 Jesus is a king. 00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:25.760 But how is it that Jesus is a priest? 00:37:27.119 --> 00:37:30.239 Priests in the Old Testament offered sacrifices. 00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:34.400 And Jesus himself offers a sacrifice. 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:42.079 Jesus did not offer the sacrifice of a lamb the way the priestly descendants of Abram would. 00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:45.840 No, Jesus offers himself. 00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:50.480 He is the priest who offers himself as a sacrifice. 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:55.119 The Lamb of God, as John said, who takes away the sin of the world. 00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:58.000 He is the perfect sacrifice. 00:37:59.119 --> 00:37:59.760 Why? 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:05.039 Why did Jesus, the king priest, offer himself as a sacrifice? 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:12.960 Well, I don't know if you've ever noticed, but if you ever stand next to a sheep, you and the sheep are not equivalent. 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:17.679 You might look like one, but you're not. 00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:22.320 You are of more value than the sheep. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:31.599 And that sheep could never take away, could never cover human sin. 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:35.039 Only a human could die for a human. 00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:38.239 Only a human could die to cover human sin. 00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:45.280 And only the eternal king of righteousness could offer himself for all of humanity. 00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:48.239 Jesus is that king priest. 00:38:48.800 --> 00:39:04.559 When Abram bows and offers Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils, he is acknowledging, in a sense, that the priesthood that would come from Abram's own line would always be inferior to this king priest. 00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:19.360 Jesus, that greater king priest, who, while descended from Abraham, does not come from Abram's priestly line, is a priest like Melchizedek. 00:39:20.800 --> 00:39:29.519 Jesus is the king of righteousness, the king of peace, and you cannot have one without the other. 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:41.039 In order to make an allegiance with the King of Priests, King of Peace, you must come to the King of righteousness. 00:39:41.840 --> 00:39:55.920 You cannot be at peace in your life without Jesus' righteousness, without the righteousness that covers all that you have been, all that you are, all that you one day will be. 00:39:57.280 --> 00:40:02.480 This is why God sent Jesus into the world to bring peace between you and him. 00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:15.760 But his righteousness, God's righteousness, demands satisfaction for those ways that you have deserted him, where you have not lived as you ought to have lived under his good rule. 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:20.480 We have all committed treason, we have allied ourselves with wickedness. 00:40:20.639 --> 00:40:25.360 We all have lived in the city of Sodom in that sense. 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:37.840 And so, in order for his righteousness to be fulfilled, he sent Jesus, the King of peace, the King Priest, the perfect sacrifice. 00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:40.880 See from his head, his hands, his feet. 00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:43.920 Sorrow and love flow mingled down. 00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:51.679 Did ere such love and mercy meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown? 00:40:52.800 --> 00:41:01.760 The king of righteousness on that cross made peace with you by the shedding of his blood. 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:11.360 So Charles Wesley in that great hymn that I just quoted from brings us at the end to our response. 00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:28.480 Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. 00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:34.000 Abram gave a tenth to the king priest who blessed him. 00:41:36.400 --> 00:41:37.920 What is your response? 00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:58.639 If you found this helpful or want to know more about City Church Dublin, please visit our website found at the link below.