To God Alone Be the Glory
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh . . .
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High . . . who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The King of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' Genesis 14:17-24
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High . . . who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The King of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' Genesis 14:17-24
After Lot had separated from Abram, he went to live among the sinful people of Sodom. There was an outside raid and Lot, along with his whole family and possessions, were hauled off. On hearing this Abram, richly blessed and protected by God, went with the 318 trained and armed men in his house to rescue Lot and recover everything that had been taken out Sodom. Abram had been so blessed that he had assembled a private protective force of 318 men!
Two kings met with Abram upon his return: one was the King of Sodom and the other was Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. The two encounters are rather telling. Abram received a blessing from Melchizedek with the reminder that it "was God Most High who delivered your enemies into your hand." To Melchizedek, Abram gave a tithe of all the plunder he had. Abram recognized that God was the source of his success.
The encounter with the king of Sodom was different. He wanted to "bless'" Abram by asking him to keep what Abram had won in battle. But Abram rejected that "blessing," saying, "I will accept nothing belonging to you . . . so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' "
Abram could greedily have accepted the plunder which would have made absolutely no difference to his already rich household but would have given others the opportunity to boast against him and diminish the glory that belongs to God alone. But he did not. Abraham recognized that there was more at stake in that gesture than mere material possessions! The glory of God was at stake!
The closer our walk with God, the greater our sensitivity to His glory. We recognize that we do not want anything or anyone to take the glory for what God enables us to do or possess. The glory belongs to God alone and to no one else.
May our spiritual sensitivity be such that nothing will tempt us to diminish the glory that belongs to God alone.
Two kings met with Abram upon his return: one was the King of Sodom and the other was Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. The two encounters are rather telling. Abram received a blessing from Melchizedek with the reminder that it "was God Most High who delivered your enemies into your hand." To Melchizedek, Abram gave a tithe of all the plunder he had. Abram recognized that God was the source of his success.
The encounter with the king of Sodom was different. He wanted to "bless'" Abram by asking him to keep what Abram had won in battle. But Abram rejected that "blessing," saying, "I will accept nothing belonging to you . . . so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' "
Abram could greedily have accepted the plunder which would have made absolutely no difference to his already rich household but would have given others the opportunity to boast against him and diminish the glory that belongs to God alone. But he did not. Abraham recognized that there was more at stake in that gesture than mere material possessions! The glory of God was at stake!
The closer our walk with God, the greater our sensitivity to His glory. We recognize that we do not want anything or anyone to take the glory for what God enables us to do or possess. The glory belongs to God alone and to no one else.
May our spiritual sensitivity be such that nothing will tempt us to diminish the glory that belongs to God alone.
Prayer: Father, I recognize that you are the sole source of my blessings. Help me not to jeopardize the glory that is rightfully yours by selling my conscience through the greed of taking from others what you have not ordained for me. Amen.