God promised that he would bless Abram and that all the nations would be blessed through him. Blessed to be a blessing—this is a great way to summarize the Christian life. But how precisely do we dispense God’s blessings? Genesis 14 helps us answer that question.

The Bible like all other pieces of literature that give an interpretation of historical events gives us a theological interpretation of the events which it interprets. Everyone’s interpretation of history or any event in time and space is theological in nature. It could not be otherwise. Even the atheist’s interpretation of history is theological in nature, because in their rejection of belief in God they are still saying something about God. No one can argue against the truthfulness or accuracy of the Old Testament’s interpretation of the events it records and interprets based on the idea that its interpretation is theological. And be certain, the Scriptures give us a clear theological interpretation of history. Everything that is taking place in time and space, as you and I experience these realities is providentially governed by and about the Triune God spoken of in Scripture.

The Triune God of Scripture not only created history he operates in it for his own glory, for the good of his covenant people and he is bringing his creation to his ordained conclusion. John tells us in Revelation 1 that it is Jesus who has made his people, the children of Abraham, to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. All of Abraham’s children are royal priests, because their father Abraham was made this by The Royalist of Priests, The Priestly King; the Lord Jesus. And as royal priests we are to intercede on behalf of others to dispense God’s covenant blessing. So how do we accomplish this? By our wise and just use of God’s blessings, by our reception of eternal blessing, and by our submission to the Great Royal Priest himself. We see all these things in Abram’s rescue of Lot in Genesis 14.

Genesis 14 opens with a rather typical ancient near-eastern account of a battle record. It is all in one sense preliminary background to the main event—Abram’s rescue of Lot. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose names end with the Hebrew terms for evil and wicked, were involved in a war, and their losing resulted in Lot and his possessions being carted off by the victorious side, led by the king of Elam, Chedorlaomer. Both the wickedness and incompetence of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah is seen in not only their defeat and retreat, but also their falling into the pits mentioned in v. 10. But one of these men escapes, and perhaps he had spoken to Lot before hand, or Aner and Eshcol brothers to one of Abram’s allies. We are not told, but he knows to go to Abram, who is referred to in the text as “the Hebrew.” This is an interesting way of referring to Abram, because the Israelites did not refer to themselves in this way, only the non-Israelites did. It has led some to speculate as to whether this account finds its original source in a non-Israelite reporting of these events. It very well may be, but what it certainly draws our attention to is Abram and his history being well-known by those outside God’s covenant community, and therefore the impact that his life, and that of his ancestors, had upon those outside of God’s covenant community.

When Abram receives the news he moves quickly into action. This is what is communicated by the brevity with which the news is reported. In his rescue of Lot and his possession he defeats a king that had won a previous victory over his adversaries. The size and skill of his troops reveals significant human and material blessings. This was a sizeable army and suggests that he likely had as many as a thousand. The fact that he split his troops tells us he probably used a tactic that would later be employed by Gideon in his defeat of armies much larger than his own, and it all alludes to the possession of wisdom for the situation. God has blessed Abram not only with resources but the wisdom to use them for just and merciful purposes.       

The question of how we dispense God’s covenant blessings may address what it looks like to administrate them. In Genesis 14 we have an example of what it looks like to administrate God’s covenant blessings in a just and merciful way. Lot has been victimized by the wicked and incompetent actions of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and do note that the two are brought together in this account. Yes, sinful wickedness leads to foolishness or a lack of skill in living.

Scripture uses primarily a category of morality when assessing or evaluating people, and so should we, first with ourselves before we concern ourselves with others. But the point is that our assessment of ourselves and others should not primarily be with respects to things like intelligence, appearance, wealth or political importance. Instead, our assessment is to operate in the realm of morality. Are we and others righteous, just, humble, courageous and wise, or unrighteous, unjust, arrogant, cowardly and foolish? Of course, answering this question is dependent on our ability to recognize these traits when we are dealing with people or assessing our lives. We cannot do so apart from a thorough knowledge of Scripture.

Abram demonstrates how different he is in moral character than the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah in his rescue of Lot. Abram demonstrates a wise, courageous, just and righteous character in rescuing Lot and Lot’s possessions after Lot has suffered from the sinful and immoral character of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Even after Abram engages in this just, merciful and wise act the self-absorbed greediness and ungrateful attitude of the king of Sodom is clearly on display in chapter 14, v. 21 as he has the arrogant audacity to tell Abram what to give him and what Abram should take as well. The arrogantly wicked regularly think they are in charge, are fixated on what they want, and how things relate to whether they are getting what they want. Somehow, most matters are about how they feel, what they want, and how they have been affected. It contrasts clearly with the justice, mercy and wisdom of the righteous, who act sacrificially for the good of others.

We have the privilege and duty to act justly, mercifully and wisely in the lives of others by speaking and living according to Scripture. Parents do this with their children as they structure and operate their home life in a way that rejects the way the world operates, puts on display sacrificial love, makes the reading and wrestling with God’s word primary in the life of the family, nurtures loving relationships within the family and models repentance from selfishness. We do this with our friends at school and work as we speak biblical truth and act in a way that makes it clear that we are pursuing goals that the world rejects. We pursue sacrificial love of others by using all we have for the glory of God so that others see that how we use our possessions, our time, and our God-given abilities reveals that we recognize that our possessions, time and abilities are not simply ours, but gifts of which we are stewards and of which we are responsible for blessing others.

We do these things not first and foremost so that others would come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Certainly we hope that they do, and that God uses us in this way in their lives, but we act justly, mercifully, courageously and wisely first and foremost because it brings glory to God. We do not decide what we are going to say or do in relation to people by trying to figure out what will influence them to become Christians. We do not have the ability to discern this. Our duty and privilege is to live to the glory of God. It is God and God alone who is the great goal governing our lives.

 While the question of how we dispense God’s covenant blessings may address what it looks like to administrate them, it also can address how we are able to dispense such blessings. We live in a culture that pushes us to focus almost completely on what the administration of something looks like; what it looks like to do a particular thing, and to lose all sight of how we are empowered to do it. But Scripture teaches us that there is an unavoidable union between the two, and the primary focus throughout Scripture, and indeed in Genesis 14, is how God empowers his covenant people to live for his glory.

The ability to dispense God’s covenant blessings is given by God. And this is seen in the appearance of Melchizedek, king of Salem bringing out bread and wine, and pronouncing Abram and God as blessed in Genesis 14:18-20. The name Melchizedek means king of righteousness, and he was king of Salem, or king of peace. He appears one time in the Old Testament in this brief encounter with Abram. His bringing out bread and wine emphasizes his royal status and this royal occasion. The text tells us that he was priest of God Most High, El-Elyon, we could translate it God Transcendent. The context directs us regarding what this means. It is Abram who is blessed by God Most High and it is God Most High whom Melchizedek, the king of righteousness and peace, tells us is blessed. The way we know God Most High is blessed is that he has blessed Abram by delivering Abram’s enemies into his hands. God Most High has given Abram victory over his enemies. So the whole story climaxes on this point—that is summed up in Melchizedek’s presence and pronouncement. This priestly king, this royal priest comes virtually out of nowhere and declares that Abram is blessed and this is seen in that he has had victory in defeating unjust and wicked kings.

The focus of the text is not primarily on what Abram has done, but on how he has been enabled to do it. And Abram’s own sense that he has been blessed is seen in both his response to Melchizedek and the king of Sodom. To Melchizedek he pays a tithe, a tenth of everything, which would have alerted the original audience of the text to the tithes they were commanded to pay to the priests that came from only the tribe of Levi. Of course, the point to note regarding this is that Abram is paying a tithe to a king who is also a priest, prior to the existence of both the tribe of Levi and the covenant community of God’s people called Israel. This is no trivial historical point. This is one of the most monumental events in all human history, and yet it is mentioned only once in the Old Testament. It is monumental because it reveals, as the writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 7 of his letter, that the Levitical priesthood was not the only priesthood among God’s people. Jesus is a priest, not because he was descended from the tribe of Levi, because he was not; he was from the tribe of Judah. But Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

In Hebrews 7, the writer of Hebrews makes a big deal about the similarities between Melchizedek and Jesus. The name Melchizedek emphasizes Jesus’ character. Melchizedek means king of righteousness and he was king of Salem, meaning king of peace. Furthermore, he says that Melchizedek is “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he continues a priest forever.” Some have concluded from the latter statements that Melchizedek was in fact what we would call a theophany, or an appearance of God, or more specifically a Christophany, an appearance of Christ. But Hebrews 7:3 does not mandate this interpretation, and I believe actually warrants us to conclude that the writer of Hebrews is stressing the priestly office held by Melchizedek. Thus, the point is that Melchizedek occupies a priestly order that is not determined by one’s earthly genealogy as the Levitical one was, and it therefore is a priestly order that never comes to an end, though the Levitical one obviously did. All this is seen in that Hebrews 7:3 ends with the phrase, “being made like the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

It is difficult to over emphasize the points being made in all this. The presence of Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, with Abram after Abram’s defeat of these kings highlights that Abram is blessed and this is why he won victory. Abram’s righteous actions did not cause the blessing to come upon him. Instead, it is the reverse! Because God had already blessed Abram, he was enabled to act righteously. The never beginning and never ending nature of the priestly order of Melchizedek highlights this. He is priest of God Most High. God Most High, who owns heaven and earth, delivered Abram’s enemies into his hands. The fact that Abram paid Melchizedek a tithe, says the writer of Hebrews, points out that the Levitical priesthood was always inferior to the priestly order of Melchizedek, and temporary.  It is Jesus who has his priesthood in the order of Melchizedek by virtue of his indestructible life.

The eternal, life-giving God intercedes for you and me, the objects of his mercy. There is nothing God’s people lack to do his will. Abram indicates this by how he responds to the king of Sodom in 14:22-23. We already are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Our behavior does not earn us God’s blessing, rather our behavior reveals whether God’s blessing rests upon us. Are you acting righteously, justly and mercifully? Are you living sacrificially for the good of others and the glory of God? Do you have a desire to that leads you to mourn your sin, seeking forgiveness from God and others, and pursuing reconciliation with God Most High that you might be a blessing to others? If so, then you can know that the blessing of the Most High God rests upon you. If not, then even this day you can turn to him who is the Great Warrior King and he will give you the victory, delivering you from your chief enemy sin, in and through the Great Priest of God’s people who sacrificed his life to deliver sinners from the grip of sin.