Scripture Reference: Genesis 14
2. Abraham the Warrior – Continued
Please read Genesis 14:13-16 for the background to this section.
His army – continued.
(3) They were trained (verse 14). No matter how good their equipment is, if the soldiers are not trained, they will be easily defeated. One of the purposes of the local church is to train God’s people how to use the Bible effectively, how to pray, how to recognize the enemy, and how to follow orders as soldiers in the army of Christ. The better you know your Bible, the better you are equipped to fight the battle (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Let me also say right here that as important as memorization is concerning the Word of God, it is more important that it becomes an active, living part of you. The Captain of your salvation wants to train you and “make you complete” (Hebrews 13:20-21 NKJV), and the Greek word means “to equip an army,” and an army is most equipped when it lives what it has been trained to do. If we fail in the battle, it is not the fault of the equipment or the strategy of our Captain. Something is wrong with the soldiers in not taking their training seriously.
(4) They believed in their leader. Abraham and his allies rode 120 miles to make a surprise attack on the four kings, and they won a complete victory. Apparently Abraham got his directions from the Lord, so the whole enterprise was a victory of faith. The spiritual application is clear: If God’s people expect to defeat their enemies, they must trust the Lord and obey His orders. This is how Joshua conquered the Promised Land and David defeated the enemies of Israel, and this is the way the church must fight today.
(5) They were united. There were not three armies with three leaders; there was one army, and Abraham was in charge. If God’s people today were united in love, what victories we would win! However, the church today is very unlike an army, especially when it comes to the discipline of marching together. “The trouble with the church,” said a pastor friend, “is that there are too many generals and not enough privates, and it’s the only army that seems to abandon their wounded!”
(6) They were single-minded. Their goal was not personal revenge or private gain (see Genesis 14:22-23), but rather, victory over the enemy so that the captives might be freed. A double-minded soldier is destined for defeat. “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4). When you remember Achan (Joshua 7), Samson (Judges 13-16), and Saul (1 Samuel 15), you see how true that statement is and the outcome when your eyes are elsewhere than the battle.
His achievement.
Abraham and his allies were so strong that they chased the enemy for 100 miles, freed all the captives, and recovered all the spoils. Did Abraham and his worldly nephew have a long talk as they rode back? Did Lot keep the promises he made while he was in danger? Did he make any promises to Abraham?
We just can’t answer those questions, but we do know this: It seems apparent that neither the Lord’s chastening nor the Lord’s goodness in rescuing Lot did him any good. The goodness of God should have led him to repentance (Luke 15:14-19; Romans 2:4); but instead of repenting, Lot returned to Sodom. He could have been reunited with Abraham, but he chose to go back an area over-rife with sin.
“Abraham was the father of the faithful,” wrote Alexander Whyte in his classic Bible Characters, “And Lot, his nephew, was the father of all such as are scarcely saved.” Some will be saved “but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15), but it is far better to have “an abundant entrance” into the Lord’s everlasting kingdom (2 Peter 1:11).
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
You must be logged in to post a comment.