Genesis: Lesson 5

Overview

Genesis 13–16: Action, Arrival, and Attitude

Genesis 13–16 traces three movements in Abram's life that continue to shape how God's people walk by faith today: the action of armies clashing, the arrival of a strange king, and the attitude of a man caught between trust and self-reliance.

Action: The Battle Belongs to the Lord

After Abram and Lot peacefully part ways, the Lord renews His twin promises of land and offspring Genesis 13:14-17. Soon after, Lot is taken captive in a regional war between rival alliances. With only 318 trained men, Abram pursues and defeats forces that five kings could not overcome. How? Because the victory was never his to win. As Moses would later tell Israel, "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent" Exodus 14:14.

This is the same posture Paul calls Christians to in Ephesians 6:10-17. The Spirit dresses us for spiritual warfare with mostly defensive armor—belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet—and only one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. We do not muscle our way through dark days; we go forth proclaiming God's promises and trust the Commander who actually wins the battle. That is a peaceful, joyful way to live.

Arrival: A Strange King Who Points to Christ

Returning from battle, Abram is met by Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, who brings out bread and wine and blesses him Genesis 14:17-20. Hebrews unpacks the significance: Melchizedek's name means "king of righteousness," and as king of Salem he is "king of peace" Hebrews 7:1-3. With no recorded genealogy, he stands outside the later Levitical line—foreshadowing a priesthood not bound by physical descent but established "through the power of an indestructible life" Hebrews 7:11-17.

Jesus is our true Melchizedek: the righteous One whose perfect life is credited to us, and the Prince of Peace who reconciles us to God through the cross and empty tomb. Notice, too, that Abram refuses the king of Sodom's reward so that no one but God receives the credit for blessing him. Faith refuses alliances that would compromise our witness. Our faith is not a Sunday compartment; it shapes how we speak, work, and relate every day of the week.

Attitude: Faith Mixed with Frailty

In Genesis 15:1-6, God reassures the still-childless Abram, taking him outside to count the stars: "So shall your offspring be." Abram "believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness"—the great Old Testament declaration of justification by faith. Yet in the very next chapter, Abram and Sarai grow impatient and devise their own solution through Hagar Genesis 16:1-3. Faith and frailty live side by side.

Our culture trains us to be self-reliant, but Scripture calls us to radical dependence on God. When we drift from that dependence, we end up exhausted, joyless, and anxious—trying to carry what was never ours to carry. Picture instead a child laughing in his father's arms, unafraid even when teased about being dropped, because he knows whose hands hold him. That is the attitude God invites us into: resting in the promises of the One who has held us since baptism, who fights our battles, and who, through the promised Seed, has crushed the serpent's head.

Transcript

Well, good morning. 3s

Let's share a prayer together, please. 5s

Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the beauty of today, 9s

but chiefly we thank you for the beauty of your promises. 12s

We praise you, O Lord, for your goodness and grace. 16s

We praise you, Lord Jesus, for the cross and the empty tomb. 21s

We praise you, O Lord, for your word. 25s

Bless now, this time of study in your word to your glory in Jesus' name. 28s

Amen. 36s

Well, we talked last week about the Tower of Babel and how the people tried to make a name for them for themselves. 37s

That resulted in God confusing of the languages and the spread of the people to different parts of the earth. 46s

We took a look at the most important figure in the Old Testament. 56s

Do you remember who it is? Abraham. Abraham. 60s

That's right. About the covenant, how Abraham faced various challenges, 64s

but between the challenge and the action came the promises of God. 70s

We were reminded that Abram certainly came from the line of Adam and Eve. 77s

We see faith and frailty. We see a mixing of faith and fear. 83s

Well, today I want to examine with you chapters 13 through 16. 90s

And we're going to look at some words at begin with the letter A here, 96s

just to help us form an outline. 103s

We're going to take a look at action. 106s

We're going to take a look at arrival. 109s

And we're going to take a look at attitude. 112s

Action, arrival, and attitude. 117s

And that will be a little bit of an outline for us to hold things together today. 120s

So let's begin with action. 127s

And specifically, the action of armies clashing. 131s

So let's go to Genesis chapter 13 and we'll begin in verse 8. 135s

Genesis chapter 13 will begin in verse 8. 141s

Then Abram said to Lot, whose Lot, but that's Abram's nephew. 153s

Then Abram said to Lot, let there be no strife between you and me 160s

and between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred. 164s

Is not the whole land before you separate yourself from me. 170s

If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right or if you take the right hand, 175s

then I will go to the left. 180s

Jumping down then into verse 12 of chapter 13. 183s

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the plain 188s

and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 194s

This sets up now a clash between armies. 201s

But then there's this beautiful interlude here. 208s

Verse 14. 211s

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, 212s

raise your eyes now and look from the place where you are, 216s

northward and southward and eastward and westward, 220s

for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 223s

I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, 229s

so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 232s

Rise up, walk through the length and breadth of the land, 239s

for I will give it to you. 242s

So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of memory, 245s

which are at Hebrew, and there he built an altar to the Lord. 250s

What are the two basic promises here that we see land and offspring, 257s

right? Land and offspring. 264s

Does that ring bell? Absolutely. 266s

Remember the covenant that God had made with Abraham and Sarah then. 268s

Land and offspring. 273s

Genesis 14 now, it sweeps us into conflict. 278s

That's why I've got the action word up here. 283s

And you have a contest between one military alliance and another. 287s

Politically, at this time, Palestine was divided into small circles of influence. 295s

And so you would have quite often these circles of influence that would clash with one another. 304s

They would clash over grazing and trade routes and access to water and access to land. 310s

So politically, you've got a lot of circles here of these influence pockets here, 319s

and they would get into these battles. 325s

What happens here is you have two of these alliances that get into a battle. 330s

And a lot, Abraham's nephew, is carried off amidst the battle. 339s

So chapter 14, verse 13. 346s

Then one who had escaped came and told Abraham, the Hebrew, 350s

who was living by the oaks of memory, the Amorite. 355s

Brother of Eskoll and of Anor, these were allies of Abram. 360s

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, 367s

he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 371s

318 of them, and went and pursued as far as Dan. 375s

He divided his forces against them by night. 383s

He and his servants and routed them and pursued them to Hobo, north of Damascus. 386s

Then he brought back all the goods and also brought back his nephew Lot 393s

with his goods and the women and the people. 398s

Why was Abram able to overcome an enemy that we skipped a little context here, 405s

but that the forces of five kings couldn't overcome? 415s

Why is that? 421s

Let's see the answer in Exodus 14. 422s

Exodus chapter 14, verse 14. 425s

The Lord will fight for you and you have only to keep still. 433s

The Lord will fight for you and you have only to keep still. 442s

Now keep that promise in mind as we turn over to the New Testament to the book of Ephesians, 449s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, and then Ephesians. 456s

Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians 6, and we'll start at verse 10 of Ephesians 6. 465s

And go through verse 17. 474s

So here, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Spirit, writes this. 479s

Verse 10, chapter 6. 482s

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power. 485s

Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 492s

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, 497s

against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 504s

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day and having done everything to stand firm. 514s

Stand therefor and fasten the belt of truth around your waist and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 524s

As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 532s

With all of these, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 537s

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. 545s

Notice here how the Holy Spirit dresses us, but also notice there's only one offensive weapon in that whole lot, isn't there? 553s

And what is it? It's the sword. 564s

And what's the sword? But the sword is the Word of the Lord. 567s

As we live in dark days, it's been dark since the fall, right? 573s

As we live in very sinful days. As we live in that darkness, we go as bears of the light, as bears of the Word. 579s

We wield the sword, which is the Word of God, and God uses His Word to accomplish that which He will accomplish. 589s

The one who achieves the victories of change in lives of people is the Lord as the Word goes forth. 599s

Just as Abram here could go up against the forces that the five kings before Him were unable to defeat, why is He successful? 609s

Because the Lord is the one who achieves the victory and the Lord is the one who is amidst the battle. 619s

We can struggle, I think, so often in life because we think that we're the ones that has to win the battles instead of as His army through the waters of baptism. 629s

We rest in the Lord who is at work. And we pray to Him for the expression of the sovereignty of His will and in that will we trust. 644s

And the Spirit dresses us as we go out each day amidst the darkness and places in our hands the sword of the Spirit, that Word that God will use, how God wants to use it. 656s

And we go forth simply proclaiming the promises of God and resting in our commander who is the one who gives us victory. 670s

That's a peaceful way to live, isn't it? That's a joyous way to live, resting in His promises for the Lord is the one who is at work. 683s

As Abram returns from the victory, he's met with an arrival of a strange king, a strange king. 697s

Let's go back to Genesis chapter 14, Genesis 14 and we'll pick up in verse 17. 711s

So after the action now comes the arrival, verse 17. After His return from the defeat of Chad O. or Lamar and the kings who were with Him, 729s

the king of Sodom went out to meet with Him at the valley of Shava, that is the king's valley. 746s

And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God most high. 754s

He blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God most high, maker of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. 764s

So here we have the arrival of this king Melchizedek. In ancient times especially in non-Israelite circles, kings would oftentimes do the same functions as the priest, so you would have a king also functioning as a priest. 779s

It's what you have here. Notice how Melchizedek reminds us of Christ. 798s

Let's go to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. Good way to find Hebrews is just go to the last book which is Revelation. 807s

Slowly start working your way backwards. When you hit James, you're getting close. That's right next door. James chapter 7, verse 1. 817s

Hebrews 7, verse 1. 830s

What we see here then is Abram is done now with the battle, so that's the action. Now here comes the arrival and it's the arrival of a strange king. 836s

So Hebrews 7, verse 1. 848s

This king Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the most high god, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 851s

And to Abraham, apportioned, one-tenth of everything. His name in the first place means king of righteousness. 863s

Next, he is also king of Salem, that is king of peace. 874s

Without father, without mother, without genealogy. 883s

Having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the son of God, he remains a priest forever. 890s

Let's break this down a little bit. His name, halfway through verse 2, his name in the first place means king of righteousness. 902s

How does that remind us of Jesus? Jesus lives the perfect, sinless, righteous life that then is credited to our account so that when God looks upon us, he sees the perfect righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ. 913s

That we now wear. He's the king of righteousness. He's also the king of peace. 930s

What is Jesus accomplished on the cross? But he affects peace. 937s

Sin breaks the relationship between us and God. That relationship is severed. 944s

Peace then is brought back. That relationship is restored to the cross of Jesus, where Jesus bears the sin of the world upon him. 950s

He's raised from the dead and death is overcome. 959s

Now, Kizadek, his name, righteousness and peace, when you look at Jesus, what beautiful descriptions of who Jesus is, the righteous one, the one that affects peace. 964s

Now, go on into verse 3 here. 981s

Without Father, without Mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. 986s

Now, Melchizedek is an historical figure here. Melchizedek just didn't pop onto the scene here. 1002s

What's being referred to is there's no genealogy in association with Melchizedek. In other words, there's no... 1010s

remember as you're reading through the Bible and then you get to those chapters, that's all the begats. And you kind of go, oh boy. 1019s

Okay, you know, and you kind of say, do I read through this or do I just kind of call it good here with this chapter. 1027s

It's good to read through it, right? But sometimes you're just kind of going to slog your way through it because you get so-and-so, begats so-and-so, who begats so-and-so, who begats so-and-so. 1035s

Well, that's all in there because you're tracing this line ultimately coming to the Messiah here. 1045s

So you're watching all of these begats. Melchizedek, there's no, and so-and-so begat Melchizedek. So there's no genealogy that we have here. 1053s

None of the requirements then that would later regulate the Levitical priesthood. In other words, the priest line came from the Levites there and that genealogy then dictated, well, is this person a priest? Yeah, absolutely. 1067s

If all of the genealogy, and this is the line of Levite here, none of that requirements here were applicable here to Melchizedek. 1085s

There's no record of his parentage or his descendants. He's not connected to any human line of priests. 1097s

The same is true about Jesus, the same is true. Now we understand his ancestry there through the line, the kingly line of David, right? 1106s

But the same is true with Christ with regard to his priesthood. Jesus's priesthood was not connected to his genealogy, same thing. 1119s

As with Melchizedek. That's why it says, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Can now look at verse 11. 1133s

Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, for the people received the law under this priesthood, 1149s

what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek, rather than one according to the order of Aaron? 1159s

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 1173s

Now the one of whom these things are spoken belong to another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar, for it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 1180s

It's even more obvious when another priest arises resembling Melchizedek, one who has become a priest not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life. 1200s

For it is a tested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 1219s

Melchizedek then foreshadows the kind of priesthood the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, would be. 1231s

One whose priesthood was independent of genealogy, one who is greater than the Levitical priests, one who remains a priest forever, and one whose priesthood is established by God's own oath. 1240s

Melchizedek arrives and it is a strange king. 1262s

Notice what happens. 1268s

It's just a pointing forward to the Messiah, who would come, book of Hebrews, picks it right up, righteousness, peace, Jesus, his priesthood, Jesus, the king. 1271s

The application is made. 1288s

Okay, back to Genesis chapter 14. 1292s

Genesis chapter 14, verse 20. 1297s

Genesis 14, verse 20. 1304s

And blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. 1314s

And Abram gave him one tenth of everything. 1322s

Then the kings of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons, but take the goods for yourselves. 1327s

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord, God most high maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours. 1334s

So that you might not say I have made Abram rich. 1348s

Who is Abram making sure gets the credit for all this? 1359s

But God, but God. 1364s

God is the one that's going to get the credit for the victory. 1367s

God is the one that's going to get the credit for all the blessings here that come upon Abram. 1372s

And Abram points out how important it is to avoid human alliances that might lead one away from God. 1379s

Abram won't do it, avoiding the human alliance that can move one away from relationship with God. 1392s

We are so tempted in our faith walk, we are so tempted to compartmentalize our faith. 1406s

That faith occurs on Sunday morning and it's compartmentalized and it doesn't influence everything. 1417s

Everything. 1429s

How we talk, how we act, the relationships with other people, alliances that occur in business, because people are always looking and saying, 1431s

if that's what a Christian is, you see everything is to be lived to the glory of God, including every aspect of our life. 1450s

So you have the action of the army's clashing, you have the arrival of this strange king and now lastly we move to attitude. 1467s

Let's go to Genesis chapter 15, Genesis 15, verse 1. 1477s

After these things, the word of the Lord caded to Abram in a vision. 1488s

Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, a reward shall be very great. 1491s

But Abram said, oh Lord God, what will you give me? For I continue childless and the air of my house is a leaser of Damascus. 1496s

Leaser was the chief servant and so according here to custom in the ancient world, if you died without any children, your chief servant would be the one that would inherit everything. 1507s

So that's why he's mentioning Eliezer here. 1520s

Verse 3, in Abram said, you have given me no offspring and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir. 1524s

But the word of the Lord came to him, this man shall not be your heir, no one, but your very own issue shall be your heir. 1531s

He brought him outside and said, look toward heaven and count the stars if you're able to count them. 1538s

Then he said to him, so shall your descendants be. 1544s

And he believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. 1548s

And before the imagery there was of sand and now it is the imagery of the stars. 1556s

Well, Abraham, Sarah, just couldn't see how this is going to work out. 1566s

So they come up with their own plan. 1570s

Chapter 16. 1574s

Now Sarah, Abram's wife bore him no children. 1576s

She had an Egyptian slave girl whose name was Heigar. 1579s

And Sarah, I said to Abram, you see that the Lord has prevented me from burying children. 1582s

Go into my slave girl, it may be that I shall obtain children by her. 1588s

And Abram listened to the voice of Sarah. 1595s

Sometimes you look at Abram and it's just this picture of faith and living on the promises. 1600s

And in other times you look and it's hardly a picture of dependence here, isn't it? 1606s

Remember, this is the first time God has made this promise and said, you're going to have a whole bunch here of descendants here. 1616s

Trust me on this, Abram. 1625s

But they take matters into their own planning. 1629s

There was a researcher by the name of Conrad Lorenz. 1634s

And he observed that newborn ducklings will bond. 1638s

They'll imprint with whoever they see first. 1642s

Because normally obviously it's the mother duckling. 1647s

And so the mother duckling there, mother duckling goes this way. 1649s

All the ducklings will follow. 1652s

There's the bonding. 1654s

Well, he decided that he would remove the mother duckling so that when these little ducks were born, 1655s

it was him that they saw. 1663s

Well, guess what the ducks did? 1665s

If he went this way, they followed him. 1668s

If he went over here, they followed him. 1670s

They relied on him for food and protection. 1673s

They just followed the one that they had imprinted and become dependent upon. 1678s

Our culture teaches us to be self-reliant, to be self-reliant, to depend upon ourselves. 1686s

And God teaches us to depend upon him. 1697s

Instead of imprinting to ourselves, we remember from once we have received our very life, 1703s

who holds it, who holds every blink and breath, and we follow then him, dependent upon him. 1713s

A move away from radical dependency on God leads to exhaustion, and joylessness, and anxiety. 1722s

Can we relate? 1735s

When we move away from dependency into self-reliance, instead of depending on the Lord who holds our breath, 1736s

it leads to exhaustion. 1749s

I think of the image of the Father holding the child, and the child was kind of in his arms, and he'd say, 1752s

oh, I think I might drop you. 1763s

I think I might drop you. 1765s

Was the child as you watched that scene, was the child filled with terror, saying, oh my gosh, this guy is just telling me he might drop me. 1767s

No, what was the child doing? The child was giggling. 1776s

The child was giggling. Why? Because he knew he was in his Father's arms. 1780s

And the last thing the Father is going to do is to drop. 1786s

It's that understanding of resting in the arms of God, and dependent upon him. 1791s

Chapter 15, again, he brought him outside and said, look toward heaven and count the stars. 1803s

If you're able to count them, then he said to him, so shall your descendants be. 1809s

And he believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. 1817s

The promised Messiah, the offspring of the woman, the seed of Seth, and Noah, and Shem, and now Abram, 1826s

it's the promised Messiah would come to the line and crush, going back to the image in Genesis, 1835s

crush the serpents, head. 1843s

13 to 16. We see action. 1848s

We see the arrival of the king. 1852s

And we see the attitude once again of Abram. 1857s

That faith and that frailty and God continuing to come and to reassure His promises for Abram. 1863s

Well, next week we're going to study chapter 17 to 19, and we're going to look at a common theme in Genesis. 1875s

And that's the theme of judgment and grace. 1884s

We're going to see that theme play out. 1889s

We'll continue next week. 1892s