Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’
This passage struck me as I was reading the Word. I've decided to read through the Bible in 6 months (or less). If I simply read 5 pages per day, I will make it within 6, but I want to read more than the minimum. I worried that it would become a duty to perform, so I prayed God would prepare me, that His Spirit would attend to His Word, and He is faithful.
What struck me about this passage was how God had already promised Abram the entire earth after Lot chose to live among to Sodomites:
And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
The act of faith on Abram's part is striking. He has God's prophetic Word that he will have offspring and the ends of the earth...the token from the king of Sodom could have been interpreted as though God's Word was being fulfilled before his own eyes: plunder and riches from the hands of those opposed to God...but he didn't take the riches. He did take benefit from Pharaoh, however, when he lied and said Sarai was his sister.
So what's the difference? Why take wealth from one unbelieving nation but not another? Is there a lesson in this for us? There are several things to consider (probably more):
1) Abram received wealth from Pharaoh as, what can only be interpreted, as a free act of God's mercy and grace in spite of his sin.
2) The gifts Pharaoh gave were the result of God's mighty acts...God plagued his household for taking Sarai as a wife.
3) Abram invaded the camps of the kings Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal and rescued Lot...and not only Lot, but other peoples of the land of Sodom. These kings and their armies had put the armies of Sodom to flight when they tried to rescue their people.
It's as if Pharaoh's gifts were acceptable because he knew he was a debtor to the God of Abram, that he was subject to God's rule. Yet the pride of the king of Sodom would be fed by blessing Abram. The glory of the defeat of those kings was to belong to God alone.
I think there are many applications to be gleaned here. It's apparent that evangelicalism has succumbed to the belief that the praise of unbelievers are to be desired. That this somehow is a gold star on the progress of God's kingdom by fleshly means. Doubt me? Who buys the Purpose Driven Life, or Your Best Life Now...other than evangelicals, aren't the other consumers businessmen? The profiteers of American industry. Men who seek to amass for themselves glory, fame, and money....but to be sure, these men pay their tithe. It is a tithe much like that of the king of Sodom. These are often major donors to churches, their building programs, their outreach ministries...they have plaques on the walls of churches that rubber-stamp the achievements of the profiteers.
Unlike Melchizedek, and unlike Abram, these men do not call upon the LORD and say of Him:
“ Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
For these men, they finance God's wars. Any victory can be traced materially back to them. God gets the credit, but God draws from a line of credit belonging to flesh. God is not the Possessor of their finances, their families, nor their ability to make money. These are the men we seek to impress. When they curse God's name or trample upon the weak, they are given a pass...after all, we may need their line of credit someday in the future. Or, perhaps we have already received from them. They have validated our words, or works, our teachings, our ministries...our credibility resides in these men. The kingdom of God becomes the kingdom of this world: an exchange of the eternal for the finite.
God's kingdom is eternal, all flesh must bow before Him. Whether or not wealthy men or princes bow in faith to our God, if we receive from them it must not be at the cost of Christ's kingdom. If a blasphemer wants to validate a man of God, or one seeking to please God, do not be flattered by his words. His gift is not a token of his faith, it is as a banker gives out a loan. The terms of these loans accrue an interest yet to be determined and can never be repaid. At least the unbeliever who is wise enough to fear God recognizes he adds nothing to the kingdom by his own strength but only as God has caused their plunder to benefit the Kingdom of our great King, God, and Savior, Jesus the Christ. For the unbeliever who has no fear, his wealth must always be spurned. The success of the gospel may be measured by their gifts remaining in their hands. It will descend into the grave with them.
Be certain that when you seek to follow Christ, there will be revilers...be certain as well that revilers may also speak soothing words and give you gifts that will shipwreck you.
3 comments:
This is an interesting point and I'd have to think about this.
But here's another thought, and this isn't necessarily in disagreement but at least a counterbalance to a complex picture. Jesus accepted water from the woman at the well and put himself in debt (hospitality wise) to a faithless person. Course this wasn't a large contribution by the world's standards of a person who was successful by the world's standards but a small token of kindness from someone of humble (shameful) standing in the community.
This is just another example to me of how there is nothing new under the sun. Historically, we see this attitude of "God owes me one" in the Roman Catholic idea of Indulgences, a practice that originated with the financing of a church building.
Rob,
I'm not sure I'd say that Christ indebted Himself to the woman at the well. I don't want to discount the notion that God accepts our works and reward us.
The thrust of the encounter was that the woman was a Samaritan, someone a Jew would not acknowledge, let alone share water with. Here we see the Incarnate God condescending and showing that the Gospel goes out to sinners...and sinners who are the outcasts.
John 4:9-10 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
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