Day 5: Genesis 12-14

Today's morning devotion is Genesis 12-14, which begins with God making a promise to Abram that Abram will be made a great nation. Along the way, Abram smartly takes shelter in Egypt during a famine before returning to Canaan, where Abram separates from Lot for a time. Eventually, Abram and Lot reunite when Abram rescues Lot from the hands of four kings.

To be a blessing

The opening paragraph in Genesis 12 left me with an immediate question: What does it mean that Abram would be a blessing?

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2 ESV)

I can understand (I think) God blessing Abram, but I didn't follow the meaning of Abram himself then becoming a blessing. I searched for "genesis 12 how is Abram a blessing" on Google and found a few commentaries, which suggested two explanations.

The first explanation was that "good men are the blessings of their country." This seemed reasonable, but not so biblical (at least to me). The reason I feel that this statement is not biblical is that it implies that all good men are blessings with or without God, whereas in the context of Abram it seems to me that only God can determine something to be a blessing.

The second explanation was that the people who come in contact with Abram would receive "spiritual light and knowledge by means of his instruction". This actually makes more sense, meaning that God blessed Abram so that in turn others may be blessed through Abram.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3 ESV)

Including all the families of the earth

Genesis 12:3 seemed to be the answer to my first question, which led me to marvel at the implication of the answer. Even though God singled out Abram to receive a direct blessing from God, God did not shun or condemn the rest of humanity to damnation.

For some reason to date I'd been under the impression that Judaism was an exclusive religion, where by virtue of being the descendants of Abraham (i.e., Abram) the Jews were the only people who could be saved. This is probably simply my own ignorance and lack of understanding of Judaism, which I hope to better understand in days to come.

Anyway, my reason for marveling really was that Genesis 12:3 implies that everyone, "all the families of the earth" can still be saved through Abram. Actually, now that I think about it, the setup sounds strangely similar to salvation through Jesus.

Maybe I've misunderstood the passage, since there are still hundreds of chapters left to read in the Old Testament.

318 trained men vs. the armies of four kings, really?

In what seems like a miracle to me, Abram rescues Lot from the armies of four kings with only 318 "trained men".

When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. (Genesis 14:14-15 ESV)

I'm not sure what was the norm for armies at the time, but my gut tells me that the armies of four (not one, but four) kings should greatly outnumber Abram's 318. A quick search on Google didn't reveal any quantities for the size of the four armies bested by Abram, but still I suspect that this feat was a demonstration of God's power.

What is a priest of God Most High?

This question arose more out of curiosity and not of much personal meaning to me. But since in the time of Abram God had not yet established the commandments and laws that Moses would teach years later, what did it mean to be a priest of God Most High, as Melchizedek was?

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) (Genesis 14:18 ESV)

A fair share, no more, no less

Finally, Abram teaches us to smartly avoid greed and the temptation of worldly goods, when he sets an example when parting ways with the king of Sodom.

And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” (Genesis 14:21-24 ESV)

What's important (for me, at least) is that taking too much is bad, but that taking nothing or too little is also bad. A fair share is exactly that: fair. So in worldly dealings I should remember to claim my fair share both of rewards and of responsibilities.