After his victory over four invading kings from Mesopotamia, Abram is confronted by Bera, king of Sodom, requesting tribute and an alliance. In the first three verses of this encounter we are introduced to a man by the name of Melchizedek, who not only blesses Abram but receives a tithe from him. While this man is only mentioned here once in Genesis, he appears twice more in Scripture. The Author of the Letter to the Hebrews offers to us some compelling exposition on this passage.

Lot’s decision to take advantage of Abram’s brotherly kindness begins to have immediate ramifications. In what is the first recorded account of combat in the Bible and the only recorded instance of warfare that involved Abram, the fourteenth chapter opens with a battle of nine armies. ​This passage reads more like a history book and it’s helpful to come at it as such by making a series of observations. Abram readies himself and his men to rescue one of his own. In the attempt to redeem Lot and his household, Abram successfully routes this foreign invasion. God was clearly on his side, how is that true for us?