How far would we go to rescue a relative who has been less than fair and helpful to us?  What we believe about God will be known by our first response when trouble comes and a rescue is needed.  God is building His character in Abram.  Abram is a human created in the image of God, just like all of us. Because Abram’s faith is growing, he is now beginning to behave in ways that are like our compassionate God.

War breaks out on the earth as kings fight over power, land, and greater wealth.  Abram gets involved when his nephew, Lot, and his family, have been taken captive.  Abram could have said, “Well, that’s the land he chose, so too bad for him.”  “Lot made his bed and now he must lie in it.”  “This is payback from God because he took the best from me.”  These are all human responses we have heard and maybe said ourselves.  But Abram instead responded like God would have—He left immediately to rescue Lot.  Can we just pitch our tents on that thought for a while?  

Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

14 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, ² these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵ In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim ⁶ and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. ⁷ Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. ¹¹ The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹² They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

¹³ A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰ And praise be to God Most High,
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Martin Luther King, Jr said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  Above all, this powerful preacher with a heart for God called on mankind to seek a change of thought that would in turn reflect God’s character in our response and behavior. What King taught was deeper than most people realize, deeper than the insane prejudices, deeper than unfairness and inequality—but in building the character of God in mankind.  It begins with believing God with faith to trust and obey what He says. When we believe and are led by God, we find ourselves responding quickly without thought to our own interests, comforts, and conveniences or to what others around us think. “The time is always right to do what is right.”—MLK

And what does God require of us?

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Yes, Abram is showing all the signs of God impacting his life by building Godly character within him.  This is the story of God who works through ordinary, flawed humans who humbly walk with Him.  They seek God’s direction and help to do what He requires from all of us; “act justly and love mercy.” 

As we give our lives to Christ and repent of our sins, God’s grace-filled work begins.  After the rescue, we are safely brought into His Presence.  By the power of His Holy Spirit, a transformation of how we think begins take place as we walk humbly with God.  We discover that our decision to follow Jesus changes everything about us—beginning with our character.  We even amaze ourselves with our new response to daily challenges that used to stir anger and cause unwise behavior.

Believing in Jesus and His work on the cross, reconciles (reconnects) us to God, our Father and Creator—the most important relationship we will ever have!  Our new relationship with God is full of love, mercy, and grace as He goes to work on our character.  But it all begins with Jesus who went to hell and back to rescue us!

Abram left the comforts of his established home to go and rescue Lot.

Jesus left the comforts of heaven to come down to earth to rescue us.

This is the character of God.  This story is about God whose character traits form in all who believe and trust in Him.  Abram exercised faith in God and made right decisions. We can count on God to work through the patterns and roles in our lives, too.

Think about it…

Adam and Eve marred the image of God within them; but the good news is that when God redeems an individual, He begins to restore the original image of God, creating a “new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). That redemption is only available by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior from the sin that separates us from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Through Christ, we are made new creations in the likeness of God (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Grace wins.

Lord,

Thank you for your rescue, redemption, and restoration.  But I’m not finished yet in my transformation.  Thank you for not giving up on me.  My heart, mind and soul are in your beautiful hands. Thank you for loving us the way you do. May your Holy Spirit lead me to what is true with courage to live what is true.

In Jesus Name, Amen