Genesis 13:14-18

Genesis 13:14-1814 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Did Abram ever actually own any of the land?

No, nor did Isaac nor Jacob (except for burial plots)

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Have the Jews (Hebrews, descendants of Abraham through Noah/Shem) ever taken possession of the land?

Not fully. The Israeli nation currently has regained possession of this region, but whether they can hold on to it remains to be seen

The promise might be taken in a spiritual sense---applying to the spiritual seed of Abraham who walk by faith (Protestant Covenant Theology) (Q: but ‘land?’)

Or, it could still describe a time yet in the future, when the descendants of Abraham take the land (2nd Advent?)

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Could this mean the Jewish Nation that is converted to Christ and rule with him in the Millennial Kingdom (Rom. 11:25-26)?

Yes, possibly.

Q: Will Christians reign with Christ on the earth during that Millennial Kingdom period?

Yes

Rev. 20:6 “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”

Genesis 13:14-18Q: In Genesis 13:14-15 God assured Abram that He would make of him a great nation, ‘as the sand of the seashore.’ Is it physically possible to have a billion billion people on the earth? No, but this is undoubtedly a figure of speech, with a number too great for actual fulfillment.

“Although the term may itself be a figure of speech, there is no reason to doubt the reality of its promised literal fulfillment. God does not break His word, nor change His mind, and this promise was given unconditionally. Abram would surely have taken it literally, as he had no basis for interpreting it otherwise.” (Morris, p. 305)

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Doesn’t the New Testament say that Jesus Christ is the ‘promised seed’ of Abraham?

Yes. Galatians 3:16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “and to seeds, as referring to many, but rather to one, , “and to your seed,’ that is, Christ.”

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Romans 4:11 says that Abraham is the father of ‘all them that believe’, so is there a spiritual ‘seed’ as well.

The Jewish nation is to be eternally blessed as a nation, chosen of God in Abram

The Christian Church, genuine believers in Christ from all nations, are also a ‘holy nation’ (I Peter 2:9),and ‘Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise’ (Gal. 2:9)

Romans 11:25 ‘ “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uniformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in”

Genesis 13:14-18Q: When Abram packed up his ‘tent’ and moved from Bethel to ‘Hebron’, did ‘Hebron’ actually exist at that time?

No. It did not become a city until years later, but was in existence by the time of Moses/Joshua (Numbers 13:22).

This reference to ‘Hebron’ is an editorial insertion by Moses, to identify the location Abram settled in, to future readers. The same is found in a number of references to other localities mentioned in Genesis.

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Where is ‘Mamre’? Why mention ‘oaks’?

Apparently this area of Canaan was heavily forested at this time (it is not now). At least there was a ‘grove of Mamre,’ as some translations interpret this reference.

Abram built another altar at Mamre.

This is his home for now, and where he held formal worship of God for his family and servants---as he had at Shechem and Bethel/Ai.

Here is where God spoke to him again.

Genesis 13:14-18Q: Did the cities that are mentioned in Genesis 12 and 13 really exist?

Yes, archaeology has revealed that Shechem, Bethel, Sodom, Haran, Ur, and other cities, actually existed at the time of Abram.

Archaeology?Q: 100 years ago (at the turn of the 20th Century), it was common for people to question whether or not Abraham ever lived. How can we be sure he did, and how can we be sure that the history recorded in the Bible is accurate?

The evolutionary and higher critical theories (JEDP) were holding sway in the early 1900’s, and mankind assumed Abraham was only a legendary hero of the Jews, comparable to Romulus and Remus in Rome…

Archaeology?A: Today, very few people around the world would question whether or not Abraham lived. They might doubt the Biblical record about the divine call and purpose God had for Abraham---or about who the land was given to, but few would question that he actually lived.

Cities buried under the sands of time (literally) have in recent years been unearthed and their cultures again revealed (Morris, p. 307)

These excavations do not show primitive, half-bestial cultures, newly evolved from an animal ancestry, but a high civilization, as described in Genesis

Archaeology?Q: Did Abraham’s boyhood home of Ur actually exist?

A: Yes, in the 19th century, excavations were done that revealed the city did exist, that it was a great and prosperous city, and very idolatrous---as Genesis suggests.

• The Euphrates River passed adjacent to the city

• There were a system of canals for water and irrigation

• The skyline was dominated by Babylonian ziggurats

• Excavations reveal beautiful vessels of gold and silver, as well as jewelry

• It had a vast library – showing people could read & write

Archaeology?Q: What about Haran, a city in present day Lebanon?

A: Haran is still in existence today. The nearby town of Nahor may have been named after Abraham’s other brother---or after Abraham’s grandfather.

The town has been explored archaeologically.

Archaeology?

Archaeology?

Archaeology?Q: Did Egypt exist at the time of Genesis 12-13?

A: It was a great empire, and had been for a long time.

Abraham probably visited Egypt during the 12th dynasty

The great pyramids were believed to have been constructed during the 4th dynasty, so were standing for centuries before Abraham visited there.

Archaeology?Q: What about Shechem and Bethel, Salem, Gerar, and Beersheba?

A: Yes, all of these have been excavated.

Nothing recorded in these chapters has ever been disproved by archaeology. To the contrary, a great many dates and places have been substantiated.

From chapter 12 onward, we can have full confidence that we have a true and accurate picture of the world.

It is written by men who actually lived at that time.

Archaeology?Q: What about the chronology as explained in Genesis?

A: Ussher’s chronology was made based on the assumption that the genealogies given in Genesis 11 and later, are complete and correct.

In general, this would seem to be a sound approach, in view of both the doctrine of verbal inspiration of the Bible and the highly uncertain status of ancient secular histories.

Archaeology?Q: Could Noah and Shem BOTH have been living at the time of Abraham?

A: Yes. Shem (son of Noah) lived 502 years after the Flood. Abraham would have died 35 years before Shem did, if these dates are correct .

Even Noah lived 350 years after the Flood (Gen. 9:28), so Abraham was 58 years old when Noah died.

Archaeology?Q: Doesn’t it seem unlikely that the world (Egypt for example) could have developed to an advanced civilization in just 3-400 years after the Flood?

A: It does seem unlikely, but we have no actual accurate way of dating the Flood, or the Tower of Babel, etc.

“Although chronological questions are still unsettled, there is no reason to question the accuracy of the names and events reported in Genesis. It seems that almost every new archaeological discovery adds further support to the Bible…The world of Abraham was a very real world, and fits precisely the specifications set forth in the Book of Genesis” (Morris, p. 310)

Genesis 14-17The Abrahamic Covenant

Genesis 14We have four things in the story of this 14th chapter

A war with the king of Sodom and his allies (v. 1–11)

The captivity of Lot in that war (v. 12).

Abram’s rescue of Lot from that captivity, with the victory he obtained over the conquerors (v. 13–16)

Abram’s return from the expedition (v. 17), with an account of what went on1. Between him and the king of Salem (Jerusalem) (v.

18–20).

2. Between him and the king of Sodom (v. 21–24).

3. The promise to Abram is in part fulfilled, that God would make his name great.

Genesis 14:1-4Q: Doesn’t Biblical history reveal that Satan has tried repeatedly to destroy God’s people, and God’s plan of redemption for mankind?

1. The Garden of Eden – by disobedience and death

2. The antediluvian world –by corruption of mankind with angelic beings?

3. The postdiluvian world – by the corruption of Noah and his grandson Canaan; and disobedience to fill the earth

4. Now, by the potential destruction of Abram and the termination of the promises God made to him (war)

Genesis 14:1-4Abram apparently lived in quiet security in Mamre for several years after Lot departed to the Jordan River Valley

Archaeology confirms that from Syria through the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, the land was peaceful and prosperous

That calm is broken by the King of Shinar (Chaldea/Ninevah), who makes an alliance with other kings to the north of Canaan including Elam/Persia. These kings sweep through the land of Canaan, conquering everyone in their paths.

Genesis 14:1-4Q: Abram could have fled to Egypt (!) but didn’t this time? Has he learned something about trusting God?

Yes

Genesis 14:1-4The King of Shinar, Amraphel, occupies the leadership position---the place where Nimrod began his rebellion, many years before; and joins with Arioch, King of Elam (Persia)

The King of Edom, Chedorlaomer, actually leads the expedition, apparently

Edom allies itself to other kings in the area

Genesis 14:1-4Q: Is Josephus correct in saying that the four kings mentioned in verse 1 are four Assyrian generals or viceroys to the King of Shinar?

No – they are stated to be kings, each over a specific territory, centered in a city in their realm

Shinar (Chaldea/Nineva)

Ellasar (Persia)

Elam (Edom---who directs the military action)

Tidal ‘king of nations’ (KJV)

Genesis 14:1-4Q: Is this war a prelude to future assaults of worldly powers against the Kingdom of God, and the nation that Abraham is going to found through his sons---Israel?

Yes. Abraham will conquer the kings, and rescue his relative Lot, and their booty.

It is a prophetic sign that in the conflict with the powers of the world, the seed of Abram would not only refuse to be subdued, but would be able to rescue from destruction those who appeal to it for aid (K & D, p. 202)

Genesis 14:1-4The reason for the war was because after serving the foreign king of Edom for twelve years, the cities of the Jordan River Plain rebelled. They rebel in the 13th. In the 14th year, Chedorlaomer attacks.

The army moves from the military road across Northern Asia, past Damascus, through Peraea, where they conquer the Rephaim, Zuzims, Emims, and Horites.

The Rephaim were men of huge stature, but by the time of Moses, held only Bashan (Og, King of Bashan, Deut. 2:20, 3:11; Josh. 12:4, etc).

Some of these huge men were in Canaan, and among the Philistines (Goliath and his brothers)

Genesis 14:1-4Q: Why are the words ‘which is the salt sea’ added in verse 3? Was the Dead Sea actually in existence during Abram’s day---and dead?

No, this is an editorial comment made by Moses as he wrote and complied Genesis. The Dead Sea was alive, with rich agriculture in the valley, and fresh water---including an outlet to keep it fresh.

Centuries of salt-laden tributary inflows, combined with heavy evaporation and no outlet, gradually made it salty.

The Dead Sea is approx. 1300 feet below sea level, the lowest land area on the earth (twice Death Valley)

Genesis 14:1-4Q: What does it mean by ‘slime-pits’?

Bitumen, or tar, which might have been an incentive for the invading kings for the economic value

Genesis 14:5-12Chedorlaomer’s destructive invasion included not only the Jordanian cities but all others in the region.

“This …minor rebellion was used as a pretext to settle old scores and to raid and ravage with unleashed ferocity for as much booty as could possibly be won. An old order was crumbling. From southern Syria to central Sinai, their fury raged. A punitive expedition developed into an orgy of annihilation…” (Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, p. 11)

Genesis 14:5-12Rich countries are a desirable prey, and idle luxurious countries are an easy prey, to ambitious countries. The Sodomites were the posterity of Canaan whom Noah had pronounced a servant to Shem, from whom Elam descended; thus soon did that prophecy begin to be fulfilled.

Chedorlaomer, in conjunction with his allies, set himself to chastise the rebels, to fetch his tribute from them on the point of his sword.

Pride, covetousness, and ambition, are the lusts from which wars and fightings come. To these insatiable idols, the blood of thousands has been sacrificed. (Matthew Henry)

Genesis 14:5-12The four kings laid the neighboring countries waste and enriched themselves with the spoil (v. 5-7)

It should have been the wisdom of the king of Sodom to submit, and desire conditions of peace; for how could he grapple with an enemy flushed with victory?

But he would rather venture the utmost extremity than yield, and he failed badly