Glory to God

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Genesis 14:18~20

0. A daily war

We hear about wars that are happening all over the world through various media.

From the visual images we see and the testimonies of the victims of the war, we believe it is a terrible thing that should never happen.

And at the same time, we consider ourselves to be people who have nothing to do with war.

But are we really people who have nothing to do with war?

This “war” I’m talking about is not a war between countries involving guns, and tanks, and bombs, but many people are daily fighting their own quiet wars.

Students must fight fatigue to study, perform tasks, and take exams.

Office workers must fight laziness and demotivation to compete for promotion.

Businessmen must fight a lot of different variables and uncertainty in the market in order to turn a profit and be successful.

Also,

We have to fight our own eyelids and sluggishness from the moment the alarm wakes us up every morning. And sometimes we have to work with someone who hates us.

So many people say, “Life is war.”

1. Abram’s war

In Genesis 14, we can see the story of people who participated in real physical wars, not everyday wars.

Genesis 14:1-2

1 At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim 2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

The first war was the Kings’ War.

It was a war between kings who followed Kedorlaomer and the kings who betrayed them.

All four, including Kedorlaomer, were kings of great countries.

But the five who committed treason were kings of smaller city states.

Who was the winner of this war?

The result was a victory for the powers allied under King Kedorlaomer.

One of the four kings who lost this war was the King of Sodom.

And Abram’s nephew Lot lived in that kingdom of Sodom.

This war made Lot a prisoner of the forces of King Kedorlaomer and his allies.

The second war in Genesis 14 was a confrontation between Abram and the forces allied under King Kedorlaomer.

Genesis 14:14-16

14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.  16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

Who was the winner of this war?

The result was Abram’s victory.

Abram defeated the kings allied under King Kedorlaomer with only 318 of his men. 

He rescued his nephew, Lot, as he wished.

2. God is my strength

Abram was a man who accompanied God, so God accompanied him in the war and helped him win.

How do I know if I am one who is going with God?

Actually, this is a difficult thing to know when life is peaceful.

But when a problem arises in life, then I can see if I am really a person who is accompanying God and accompanied by God.

So, although problems in life bring us much trouble, stress, and pain, we should actually consider them good trials that allow us to check that status of our relationship with God.

We can confirm the faith of Abram and non-faith of Lot through the war of kings.

When Abram separated from Lot, he chose God as his Inheritance. His confession was “The Lord is my strength”, or in other words, “all I need.”

Abram’s life was quite peaceful until the day war arrived on his doorstep.

But because God was his strength, Abram went in boldly and won the war.

Additionally, his victory granted him many spoils, and he became richer.

Abram, who chose God as his Inheritance, was able to keep not only his life and possessions, but also add to them as a result.

So how about Lot?

When Lot left Abram, he chose the value of the world as his Inheritance.

In other words, Lot was trying to get his strength from the values of the world.

But when war came to his town, he was unable to keep his possessions, his family, or even his own life.

Lot, who did not rely on God, could not defeat the powers of the world.

The values of the world that Lot had chosen as an Inheritance did not help solve his problems at all.

We must remember that the war belongs to God, and that victory or defeat are in his hands.

This is true whether it’s a real, physical war or our everyday, personal war.

3. Glory to God

What is the Christian’s ultimate goal?

Is the purpose of life to be healthy and wealthy through the blessing of God?

Or is the purpose of life to boast of our accomplishments and successes to the world ?

Abram’s actions reveal the truth to us.

Genesis 14:20-24

20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, `I made Abram rich.` 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me — to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

The ultimate goal of the Christian life is “to glorify God, and enjoy him forever.” (Westminster Catechism #1)

A true Christian is the one who renders all glory to God when he becomes a victor.

After Abram’s success in the war, he gave tithes to God who gave him the victory..

At that time, he did not accept anything from the King of Sodom in exchange for his victory because he didn’t want anyone to be able to say that the King of Sodom had made him rich.

Rather, it was God who delivered the victory, and God who made him prosper. 

He believed that all his victories came from God.

Abram was also a person who cared about others.

Abram was fine without receiving a gift from the King of Sodom.

But Abram did not forget the share of the young people who helped him fight together, and so he told the King of Sodom to “let them have their share.”

This shows that Abram was a mature person.

Abram did not force others to have the same high level of faith that he had.

Rather, Abram helped the young people meet God, who is good, through his faith.

4. Jesus Christ

So what must we do to glorify God?

We must convey Jesus to the world. Preach the message of salvation, show his goodness and love to others, and share the story of how he changed your life.

Actually, the interesting fact is that Genesis 14 already foreshadows and points to Jesus, the Savior.

Genesis 14:17-20

17 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 (that is, the King`s Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The meaning of the name ‘Melchizedek’ means ‘God is salvation’, or “my king is righteousness.”

His faith is very similar to the faith of Israel, as he serves “El Elyon”, the “most high God”.

His country ‘Salem’ is also the same as Jerusalem, which later will become the center of worship in Israel.

In particular, Hebrews chapter 7 describes the passage about Melchizedek as a prophecy about Jesus Christ, the true priest and king.

So before the history of Israel began, the emergence of Abram and Melchizedek was ultimately necessary for the achievement of salvation through Jesus Christ.

In other words, their place in world history became a gateway to the coming of Jesus Christ, the savior of all mankind.

So even though Abram and Melchizedek did not know all of God’s will, they were able to convey Jesus Christ to the world by obeying God.

Thus, the lives they lived, and the paths they walked brought glory to God

1 Corinthians 10:31

31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Let’s shout this three times together! 

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!”

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!”

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!”

Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!

Let others know Jesus Christ as our savior through your daily life!

And may the wonderful history of God’s salvation be shown through all of us!