When You Love Somebody, You’ll Do Whatever It Takes

 

Text:  Genesis 14: 10-12,  ¹⁰ ‍And the vale of Siddim was full of‍^†‍ slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.‍ ¹¹ ‍And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.‍ ¹² ‍And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.‍ ^[1]

Genesis 14 gives us an account of war in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah.  The setting was in the valley near the salt sea.  Many kings were weary of serving  Chedorlaomer, king of Elam,  as they had for 12 years, so they rebelled in the 13^th year of his reign.

Here we see Abram in the unexpected role of a warrior.  The king of Sodom and the kings of the adjoining cities had served as tributaries. (which means to serve under tribute and pay taxes, such as did the Jews under the Romans, and the new found Colonies did to Great Britain)

These kings combined to throw off the yoke of the king of Elam (Chedorlaomer).  This king of Elam saw it all as rebellion, so with the aid of three allies he invaded the territories of the stubborn kings and defeated them.

Genesis 14:10 tells us  there were slime pits in the land and evidently this made it very difficult to conduct a war.  This became a victory point for the king of Elam  because the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell  as a result.

The king of Elam had a quick triumph on his homeward march and took many captives and riches.

** Among the captives taken was Lot – Lot and all of his belongings were taken captive.  Perhaps Lot is facing the consequence of having separated himself from Abram and making a rather selfish choice of the land of Sodom and Gomorrah.  It seemed like the best place to be from a worldly point of view, knowing the untold wealth of that land, but it was a spiritual disaster for sure.  Lot did not take into account the high risk of separating himself from Abrams protection.  When we go out from the path of duty, we go away from God’s protection and cannot expect that the  choice we make will be a long-term value.

We now have a rather gloomy picture for Lot.  How will it affect Abraham?

God always has a miracle in store, even for those who make unwise choices…..God sent a man who had escaped to Abram to tell him that Lot had been taken captive.

Thank God for the unknown messenger that bridges the gap!  Can you think of somebody in your own life who has bridged the gap and made a miracle possible?

Abram had every natural right to excuse himself from helping his brother or nephew, Lot, but something compelled him.

You see, When you love somebody, you’ll do whatever it takes, even when you don’t have to do it, to help that person.

The Lord Jesus Christ went far beyond what He had to do and here we see Abram stepping out of his usual role as a spiritual leader to rescue somebody he loved.

When Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he did not even flinch or wasted any time at all.  He armed his trained servants – 318 in number.  If Abram could spare 318 to do battle and still have enough men to take care of the flocks, then there must have been a very large number of men in Abrams establishment.  Abram was a wealthy leader of a large clan, probably with about 1000 men.

Some may have looked at what Abraham was about to do and say that he was crazy, but you see, Abraham loved Lot and when you love somebody, you’ll do whatever it takes!

No matter if it’s your spouse, your child, your brother or sister, a relative or a friend, when you love somebody, that is enough to motivate you to do the unusual!

Abraham did the unusual indeed:  he divided up his company of men at night and smote the enemy.

Sometimes unity requires that we break up into groups for the cause of the greater good:  otherwise we would all still be worshipping in Jerusalem at the original church.  Instead God called his people over the past 2000 years to preach the gospel to every creature.  It’s still the worldwide body of Christ, but we are helping fulfill His great commission!

So Abram and his men rescued Lot and his people and their goods.  Mission accomplished.  Lot may not have made it out alive if it had not been for a very merciful brother.

The Word of God tells us that God is rich in mercy.  You may have wandered into a place of self-service, or perhaps you have just lost your way.  Can I tell you that God will do whatever it takes because His love for you is so incredibly strong, even far beyond what any love ever existed between human beings.  It’s hard to imagine a love stronger that what we have with our families, but there is no love so strong like the love of God!

O that God’s people would realize how great God’s love is for us!  I want you to know that the way God feels about His church is the same way a young man feels about his bride:  he cannot imagine life without her:  we are the bride of Christ and Almighty God wants us to sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb to begin an awesome eternity with us:  what fellowship and friendship awaits us all who have been born again!  If you have not been born again, right now is the right time to be born again!

There is a great reward for engaging in the divine will of God:  When Abram returned he was treated with high respect by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, Melchizedek was one of the few native princes who knew and worshipped the most high God.  So there was after all somebody   in the land who actually knew the same God as Abram knew.  Melchizedek came to celebrate in the victory and give God all the praise and glory.  Melchizedek came to bestow a great blessing upon Abram:  and guess what Abram did in return:  he gave Melchizedek tithes of all. That just reinforces how that Abraham was a man who had his heart truly in the right place:  Jesus said in Mathew 6:21, “²¹ ‍For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.‍^[2]

I firmly believe that when we love the Lord with all of our hearts that we are going to find a way to bless Him.  Not just only doing the bare minimum in service to Him, but going the extra distance please Him.

Abraham could have kept the goods that he recovered, in fact, the king of Sodod even acknowledged this.  But with honest pride, and a generosity unknown in that part of the world, he replied with strong phraseology common to the East, “I have lifted up mine hand” [that is, I have sworn] unto the Lord that I will not take from a thread even to a sandal-thong, and that that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich”^[3]

What integrity!  We want to be Christians like that:  such that will bring glory and honor to Almighty God.

The hymn writer Fanny Crosby gave us more than 8000 Gospel songs. Although blinded at the age of 6 weeks, she never held any bitterness in her heart because of it. Once a preacher sym pathetically remarked, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.”

She replied quickly, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised clergyman. “Because when I get to Heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!”

^[4]

You see, Fanny Crosby loved her savior so much that she was willing to do whatever it takes.

It is time to turn our love toward the Lord Jesus Christ and watch what he does in response!