The Battle of Five Kings Against Four (Genesis 14:1–16)
Pastor Mike began by reminding us of the two goals he set for every sermon in this series back in January—to preach Christ, and to offer practical application for believers today. Genesis 14 looks at first glance like a text where neither goal will come easily. Almost all of it is straightforward military history: four eastern kings against five kings of the Jordan Valley. But the Old Testament was written for our instruction, and this passage is no exception. Last Lord’s Day we watched Lot separate from Abram and choose the well-watered valley, while Abram settled by the oaks of Mamre near Hebron, where the LORD reaffirmed His covenant and His promises. Abram must have expected quiet years ahead. Instead, the land God had given him was invaded by an international confederation. The four kings—Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal—came from what is now Iran and Iraq, with Chedorlaomer chief among them. The five kings of the plain had served him twelve years, rebelled in the thirteenth, and in the fourteenth he came to settle the matter. Notice who suffers on the way: peoples destroyed for no reason we are told beyond standing in the path of ambitious men. That is our first lesson. We live in a fallen world, and natural man not only hates God but often hates his neighbor—especially when his neighbor has something he wants. When the armies finally lined up in the Valley of Siddim, the five kings were crushed; some fled to the hill country, and others fell into the tar pits that still dot that valley.
Then come the spoils—and with them, the reason this chapter is in Scripture at all. The victors carried off the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they carried off Lot. Look carefully at how Moses describes him: Lot was dwelling in Sodom. Trace the drift. He needed pastureland, so he chose the valley. Then he settled among the cities of the valley. Then he moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now he lives inside it, and by chapter nineteen we will find him sitting in its gate. Where did his herds go? Where is the concern for pastureland that started all of this? Lot is a living illustration of the old warning that sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you meant to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. Sodom was Vanity Fair to him. He may well have intended to stay in the countryside, but the entertainments and allures of the city drew him in, and once he got into the city, the city had a way of getting into him. This is exactly why the Apostle John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world… the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17).
The last four verses give us the rescue. A survivor brings word to Abram at Hebron, where he is living at peace and has made covenant partners of three Amorite men—Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner. Pastor Mike paused here to give us a useful category. People in a fallen world tend to fall into three groups: enemies, friends, and allies, or co-belligerents. Lot made friends of men he should have recognized as enemies. Abram made allies of men he never mistook for brethren—he would fight beside them, but he did not move into town with them. That is a distinction worth carrying into our own moment; we may link arms with those who are not believers in a fight against a real evil, such as the war against the unborn, without ever confusing them for the household of faith. Then Abram acts. He had every human reason not to—his ungrateful nephew had taken the best land and gone to live among great sinners, and Lot’s captors had just slaughtered their way across a continent. Many of us would have thanked the messenger and promised to pray. Abram instead calls out 318 trained men born in his own household, evidence of years of quiet, faithful preparation long before there was any battle to fight. Faith is not the enemy of work; often faith is meant to be active. He pursues 110 miles north to Dan, divides his forces, strikes by night, drives them to Hobah, and brings back Lot, the people, and all the goods. A small force overturned an army that had just crushed five kingdoms—because if the battle is the LORD’s, He can save by many or by few, and He often seems to prefer by few. And that is where the text finally points beyond itself. Abram stands here as a type of Christ. Lot had done nothing whatever to make himself worthy of rescue; he had done everything to warrant “good riddance.” Neither had we. But the Lord Jesus left His home in glory, went out to battle for us, set His face like flint toward the cross, and laid down His life—and in doing so secured the greatest of all possible spoils for His children: peace with God, forgiveness, adoption, fullness of joy, and one day a glorified body. None of it because we were worthy. All of it because He is gracious.
- The War (vv. 1–10) — Four kings from the east march against five kings of the Jordan Valley after thirteen years of tribute and one year of rebellion, leaving a wake of destruction behind them and crushing the five in the Valley of Siddim.
- The Spoils (vv. 11–12) — The goods of Sodom and Gomorrah are carried away—and so is Lot, who is no longer camped near the city but dwelling in it.
- The Rescue (vv. 13–16) — Abram hears the report, calls out 318 men born in his house, pursues as far as Dan, strikes by night, and brings back his nephew, the people, and the goods.
Key line to remember
“Lot had done nothing to make himself worthy of rescue — and neither did we.”
REFLECTION AND PREPARATION
Day 1 — A World at War
Read: Genesis 14:1–10; James 4:1–4
Adults
- Whole peoples are destroyed in verses 5–7 for no reason the text gives us beyond standing in the way of ambitious kings. Pastor Mike said the simple answer is the wicked heart of man. How does James trace conflict back to that same root?
- Abram had just received a fresh reaffirmation of God’s covenant, and then war broke out all around him. What does that teach us to expect in the days after God has given us real spiritual assurance?
Children
- Four kings came a very long way to fight five kings. Which side won the battle?
- The Bible says there is fighting in the world because people’s hearts are sinful. Does that sin start outside of us or inside of us?
Day 2 — Farther Than You Meant to Go
Read: Genesis 14:11–12; 1 John 2:15–17
Adults
- Trace Lot’s steps: he looks toward the valley, settles among the cities, moves his tent as far as Sodom, and now lives in it. Which of those steps looks most harmless to you—and why is that exactly the dangerous one?
- Pastor Mike said, “Once he got into the city, the city had a way of getting into him.” What is currently getting into you that you first thought you were only living near?
- John says the world is passing away along with its desires. Lot’s whole estate left in a caravan in a single afternoon. What are you holding right now that could go the same way?
Children
- At first, Lot only camped near the city of Sodom. Where was he living by the time of the battle?
- What is something you enjoy that could pull your heart away from God if you loved it too much?
Day 3 — Enemies, Friends, and Co-Belligerents
Read: Genesis 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1
Adults
- Abram is allied with Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, but he has not moved in with them the way Lot moved into Sodom. What is the practical difference between an alliance and a friendship?
- Take Pastor Mike’s three categories—enemies, friends, and co-belligerents. Who in your own life belongs in each? Where have you let the lines blur?
- Paul warns us not to be unequally yoked, yet Abram’s allies ride out with him. How do we hold both together: real cooperation in a good cause, and real separation in worship?
Children
- Abram had neighbors who helped him fight. Did that mean they worshiped God the way Abram did?
- Can you be kind and helpful to someone who does not love Jesus, without copying everything they do?
Day 4 — The Rescue of the Unworthy
Read: Genesis 14:14–16; Ephesians 6:10–18
Adults
- Abram had 318 trained men born in his household—years of quiet preparation completed long before there was any battle. Where is God calling you to prepare now for a fight you cannot yet see?
- Paul tells us to take up armor that will only serve us if we are already familiar with it. Which piece of that armor do you handle least skillfully, and what would training in it look like this week?
- Abram had every reason to say “good riddance” to Lot, and went after him anyway. Read Colossians 1:13–14. What does that rescue show you about how the Lord Jesus came after you?
Children
- How many trained men did Abram take with him to rescue Lot?
- Lot had not been a very good nephew at all. Did Abram go and save him anyway? Who does that remind you of?
Day 5 — Two Kings Come Out to Meet Him (Preparing for the Lord’s Day)
Read: Genesis 14:17–24; Hebrews 7:1–10
Adults
- Two kings come out to meet Abram in the same valley—the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, king of Salem. What does each one offer him, and what does each one want from him?
- Melchizedek is the first priest named anywhere in Scripture, and Abram gives him a tenth of everything long before we have any record of a law requiring it. What does that suggest about where the practice of the tithe actually comes from?
- Abram refuses to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from Sodom. What would it cost you this week to turn down something you have every right to, so that no one else can take credit for God’s provision in your life?
Children
- What did Melchizedek bring out with him when he came to meet Abram?
- Abram gave away a tenth of everything he had brought back. Why do you think he gave it to God’s priest instead of keeping it all for himself?
NEXT LORD’S DAY PREVIEW
The Genesis of the Tithe — Genesis 14:17–24
Abram comes home from the slaughter of the kings with the spoil of five kingdoms in his hands, and two kings come out to meet him in the very same valley. One is the king of Sodom, who has a proposal. The other is a man who seems to come out of nowhere—Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High—who comes out with bread and wine and a blessing. Between the two of them, Abram has to decide whose hand he will take and whose hand he will fill.
This brief scene hands us the first priest in Scripture, the first tithe in Scripture, and a blessing that the writer of Hebrews will spend three chapters unfolding. The antithesis of Genesis 3:15 is here as well, no longer as armies drawn up in a valley, but as two kings standing in front of one man of faith with two very different offers.
- Come ready to consider who Melchizedek is—why he appears so abruptly, disappears so completely, and what Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7 make of him.
- Come ready to consider why Abram gives a tenth of everything centuries before the law of Moses ever required it, and what that means for our own giving.
- Come ready to consider why Abram will not accept a thread or a sandal strap from the king of Sodom, and what it looks like to guard the honor of God’s provision in our own finances.
HYMNS FOR NEXT LORD’S DAY
- 46 — O Worship the King
- 173 — Our Great High Priest Is Sitting (sung to the tune of 213, “O Word of God Incarnate”)
- God Has Spoken by His Prophets — G. W. Briggs, sung to Hymn to Joy (the tune of 27); Recording: hymnary.org
- 51 — Jesus Shall Reign
God Has Spoken by His Prophets
1 God has spoken by the prophets,
spoken his unchanging Word,
each from age to age proclaiming
God, the one, the righteous Lord.
In the world’s despair and turmoil
one firm anchor holds us fast:
God is King, his throne eternal,
God the first and God the last.
2 God has spoken by Christ Jesus,
Christ, the everlasting Son,
brightness of the Father’s glory,
with the Father ever one;
spoken by the Word incarnate,
God from God, before time was;
Light from Light, to earth descending,
he reveals our God to us.
3 God is speaking by his Spirit,
speaking to our hearts again,
in the ageless Word declaring
his own message, now as then.
Thro’ the rise and fall of nations
one sure faith is standing fast:
God abides, his Word unchanging,
God the first and God the last.
Blessings,
Pastor Mike