The Book of Genesis
Part 31
As we continue our study in the life of the patriarch Abraham, and particularly as we examine his relationship with his nephew, Lot, we learn something of the rich compensations of brother-love. Let us look closely at another section of the Book of Genesis, chapter 15.
Priestly Blessing
There is something exceedingly interesting in the meeting of Melchizedeck, the priest of the Most High God, and Abraham, the patriarchal priest. Melchizedek is an excellent type of Christ our High Priest for his name means King of Righteousness, and since he was king of Salem, he must have been King of Peace.
The occasion: After the strife of battle, after the tension of conflict, after the clash of combat, Abraham was met by one whose name is peace. Psychologically speaking, Abraham would have an inward peace, but this was something much deeper.
After Lot had taken advantage of him; after Abraham had risked his all for this envious brother, after he had refused the reward of the king of Sodom, he was met by one whose name is righteousness. What a blessing, the blessing of Melchizedek upon Abraham!
The latter occasion (Gen 15:1): Would Abraham’s benedictory peace be disturbed? Would the enemy re-mobilize and take reprisals? Listen, “After these things the Word of the Lord appeared unto Abraham in a vision, saying, “FEAR NOT, I am thy shield.”
Would Abraham’s disinterestedness, his sacrifice, mean nothing but personal expenditure? The Lord declares, “I am thy exceeding great reward.” When Abraham loved his erring brother and risked his all in battle for his recovery, God’s blessing was peace; when he ignored personal hurts and injustices, God’s blessing was righteousness; when he sacrificed his safety, God’s blessing was His shield and protection; when Abraham made himself expendible for Lot, God declared, “I am thy exceeding great reward.”
As the sweet odour of Abraham’s sacrificial love ascended from the altar of his action through his priestly heart, the glory of the Living Presence, the Shekinah, descended and filled his soul.
There are many other lessons which we must learn from the historical records of Abraham’s life. In chapter 18, this patriarch is seen as a supplicant before the Lord, and since there is so much that we ought to learn in this regard, it might be well for us to pass immediately to this portion of Genesis. We shall only have time to introduce the study, but as we await another issue, we can be prayerfully reading this chapter.
The Spirit of God says, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Tim. 2:8). In this concise statement we have revealed the conditions which are absolutely necessary for prayer. The exercise of prayer is excellent, and it may be performed anywhere, but the conditions are strict.
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The upward attitude: Before God, this is seen in “holy hands,” there must be no moral defilement in the life. The inward attitude: Within, we must foster an emotional calm, there must be no “wrath.” The outward attitude: How evident this is made by the word “doubting,” which is better rendered, contention or quarrelling, there must be an expression of love and peace. In other words prayer demands holiness of life, quietness of spirit, and peace and goodwill toward men.
These qualifications are well illustrated for us in the example of Abraham the supplicant. Throughout this chapter, we see him in different roles, and these we shall examine.
Abraham The Pilgrim (Vv. 1-2)
On this occasion, Abraham sits in his tent door at midday, and there meets the Lord, but in chapter 15: 4-6, he was with the Lord at midnight. He who has communed with God in the day-time experiences of life can most certainly enjoy fellowship with Him in the dark cloudy experiences. The Lord, Who here shows His friendship to Abraham in the sunlight, was the same Lord Who made His promise to Abraham when only tiny stars were shining in the dark. There are times, when like the bride in S of S. 1:13, we want Him closer to us in the darkness. It is ever blessed to be able to welcome Him as well in the daylight.
What a contrast there is here between spiritual Abraham and carnal Lot! Abraham the pilgrim sat in his tent door in the day time, nothing was hidden, his personal behaviour and domestic life were fully manifested. This is fully borne out by the language of verse 2, “And, lo, three men stood by him (stationed themselves as in chapter 28:13; Ex. 17:9; not simply standing as in chapter 19:27). Lot, we know, sat in the gate of Sodom in the darkening evening (Gen. 19:1). Lot, the judge, the magistrate, the politician, was loath to leave his place of business even as the dark doom settled upon the city. Before the sun again reached its zenith, Sodom was a pile of burning ruins.
There is another contrast that we might make here. That bright day, three men arrived at Abraham’s tent, three persons in human form, but on the last evening at Sodom, Lot saw two angels. How close the men came to Abraham! How remote and distant the angels remained from Lot! Men in the nearness of nature visited the pilgrim; angels from a remote sphere and of a different nature spoke to the politician. Abraham was a man of the first essential quality for prayer, a man of holiness to God.
Abraham The Host (Vv. 3-15).
There is one thing in which the upper room, lent by the goodman of the house to the Lord for the pass-over and the Lord’s supper, and Abraham’s tent were similar; there was a place in both for the Lord Himself. In practically every other respect, they stand in contrast. Let us look at them.
Abraham was a servant in the tent (Vv. 3-5). Abraham was humble in the tent, “but dust and ashes” (19: 27); everyone in the upper room wanted to be great (Luke 22:24-27), all except Jesus. Abraham prayed; no one prayed in the upper room except Jesus. Abraham provided a meal for the Lord; in the upper room, the Lord provided a supper for the disciples. This simple comparison shows how much Abraham was like the Lord. One cannot company with the Lord in the night seasons and the day times without becoming like Him. A school teacher who visited the Holy Land wrote an account of her visit which she closed thus, “We visited Bethlehem, Calvary, and the Garden, but we saw not the Christ, but the Christ we did see in a young Christian teacher who was instructing a class of Arab boys in a mission school in Jerusalem.” What a Christlike inward calm filled Abraham! There was no emotional disturbance when strangers called, no passionate burning of resentment when they stayed long. Abraham certainly possessed the second quality for prayer, inward calm.