Abram 4 – My brother’s keeper.
Now we are moving into Genesis 14, we read a story that confirms the importance of choice. Before we start, I want to take you back a few chapters in Genesis and make reference to Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4:9 we read that God was speaking with Cain after he (Cain) had murdered his brother Abel because he was jealous of him and his offering to God. God asked Cain a question, “Where is Abel your brother?“, Cain’s reply was “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?“, this was the voice of someone trying to hide their sin. The answer to this question as Christians is, yes we are our brothers’ keepers. It is important for us to remember that when we find our rest in Christ we do not lose sight of those around us. Notice that when Cain asked God the question “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God doesn’t even answer the question because it does not need an answer. It is a given, I am my brother’s keeper! God just says “Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!” Genesis 4:10. This is the cry of the oppressed. God always hears the cry of the oppressed.
At the start of Genesis 14 Abram was living in relative peace and harmony with God and everything around him. However, he immediately left the comfort and security of his dwelling place in order to go and rescue his nephew Lot. He gave no thought for his own security or his own safety, he went immediately in search of the oppressed, the one who was lost. By this he is demonstrating that he is his brother’s keeper.
We read that Abram went out to fight the four Kings who have ruthlessly destroyed, scattered and plundered the wealth of the five Kings. It appeared Abram was driven by a love and desire for justice.
What we read in Genesis 14:18-20 is quite extraordinary. In these few verses we are introduced to the King of Salem, a man called Melchizedek, who brought bread and wine to Abram and blessed him. It is recorded that this king was “the priest of God Most High”, in other words God had appointed him to be the blessing to Abram at a time of great need.
The writer to the Hebrews records in Hebrews 7 that this king had no genealogy. He seemed to appear from nowhere and appeared to return to obscurity. He was in fact the forerunner to Christ who is our high priest forever. It is important to note at this point that Abram gave this king a tithe of one tenth of all he owned, indicating the high regard he had for that king Melchizedek, “the priest of God Most High.” Christ comes to stand in the gap, He comes to refresh us with ‘bread and wine’, the symbol that all Christians use to remember this broken body and poured out blood. He blesses us with all Spiritual blessings. The least we can do is acknowledge the man, Christ Jesus.
A.W. Tozer writes “We boast in the Lord but we watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him! To many, Christ is little more than an idea, or at best an ideal: He is not a fact! They talk as if He were real and act as if He were not. We can prove our faith by our committal to it – and in no other way!“
This is exactly what Abram did in Genesis 14:22-23, he refused to get caught up in deals with earthly Kings. Instead he reiterated his wholehearted commitment to God Most High.
This is how we show the world we are different. Our trust is in God Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth Genesis 14:22 (KJV). Abram does not want his victory over unrighteousness to become something that is attributed to anyone or anything other than God Most High.
Am I my brother’s keeper? I hope so and I hope and pray that when victory over injustice comes we acknowledge who has won that victory and give God the praise.
// Required code